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Allison White/The Times-Standard
Posted: 12/24/2010 04:33:00 AM PST


The Rotary Club of Ferndale Foundation and the Humboldt Lyme Awareness Group have teamed up to help provide financial assistance to those needing Lyme-related lab tests.

The Lyme Test Access Program is a nationwide program offered to provide reimbursement assistance of initial medical tests needed for Lyme-related conditions for those patients needing assistance, according to a press release. Humboldt Lyme Awareness Group volunteer Sylviane Schwarz said since the groups kicked off the program in November, the application has been downloaded 500 times from their site, www.lymetap.org, and she has been answering questions on the application process.

”There's been a lot of demand,” she said.

People requiring assistance in paying for the lab tests can be reimbursed up to 75 percent for the out-of-pocket costs if their application is approved, according to the press release. Children under 18 are given priority in the program, and it can be used to prepay for the test or reimburse the patient afterward. Prepayment may take longer to process.

Schwarz said the program is especially important in this area, as it is a high risk area for ticks, which are small insects that feed on the blood of living mammals and can transmit Lyme disease and other diseases. Lyme disease can be “debilitating,” especially if not caught early, she said.

The reimbursement program is funded through a donation from IGeneX Inc., but laboratory tests do not need to be conducted at that company's facilities to be reimbursed, according to the press release.
For information on the program, e-mail lymetap@gmail.com or go to www.lymetap.org.


Staff writer Allison White can be reached at 441-0506 or awhite@times-standard.com.