Many people, especially after being sick for many months or years, are not able to afford proper Lyme disease diagnostic testing and are therefore denied access to what may hold the answer to their as-yet-undiagnosed or misdiagnosed acute or chronic illness. And even if they do get tested, it is often through grossly unreliable and inaccurate commercial lab tests.
But, great news has come my way! A nationwide patient assistance program – Lyme Test Access Program (Lyme-TAP) – will begin accepting applications at the beginning of next month for those with financial hardship who would like to be tested for Lyme disease – and through the best lab in the country for Lyme testing! Here are some of the details and requirements to apply:
“The Lyme Test Access Program (Lyme-TAP) is a nationwide patient assistance program offered by Rotary Club of Ferndale Foundation in coordination with Humboldt Lyme Awareness Group.
“Applications will be available to download and accepted starting November 1st, 2010
“Lyme-TAP is a new patient assistance program helping patients with financial hardship pay for diagnostic Lyme testing who would otherwise be unable to afford testing. The program will provide reimbursement for up to 75% of the patient’s out-of-pocket costs (after insurance or Medicaire reimbursement) of testing from any CLIA- or Medicare-approved laboratory of the patient’s choice…
“…This program is only possible through a generous grant from IGeneX, Inc., Reference Laboratory. We applaud IGeneX for addressing this vital need in the community. LYME-TAP invites other laboratories and individuals to contribute to the LYME-TAP fund. If you have any questions regarding this program or how to make a donation supporting this program, please contact us on November 1st.
Eligibility requirements:
Applicant must demonstrate true financial need, based on income, dependents and other circumstances
Patients must submit the first page of their Form 1040 federal tax return
Eligible Lab tests must be:
Initial diagnostic Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases
medically necessary
not covered by insurance
not duplicative of other tests
from a CLIA/Medicare-approved laboratory
Patient’s physician must certify:
patient’s financial need,
lack of insurance coverage for test, and
medical necessity of test”
UPDATE 3/15/11
After a brief hiatus, we are pleased to say that the Lyme-TAP program is available again through the Lyme Patients Assistance Group & Rotary Club of Ferndale Foundation. Further information & forms are available at www.lymetap.com. Program coordinators can be contacted at info@lymetap.com
[...] on May 28, 2011 by Danielle A while back I wrote a post on how low-income individuals who need Lyme diagnostic testing can apply for a grant from a program called Lyme-TAP. The following is a great blog article by Dorothy Kupcha Leland on how you can save money on [...]