Lyme Disease & Health Care Costs

January 19, 2026

https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf/

Lyme Disease and Health Care Costs

(Deny, deny, deny those claims! You might want to read this.)

Carl TuttleHudson, NH, United States

Jan 18, 2026

Letter to the editor of JAMA Network Open:

———- Original Message ———-
From: CARL TUTTLE <runagain@comcast.net>
To: “eli-perencevich@uiowa.edu” <eli-perencevich@uiowa.edu>, “eli.perencevich@jamanetwork.org” <eli.perencevich@jamanetwork.org>
Cc: “sfihn@uw.edu” <sfihn@uw.edu>, “jamanetworkopen@jamanetwork.org” <jamanetworkopen@jamanetwork.org>, “stephan.fihn@jamanetwork.org” <stephan.fihn@jamanetwork.org>
Date: 01/15/2026 3:16 PM EST
Subject: Lyme Disease and Health Care Costs; JAMA Network Open

JAMA Network Open

Lyme Disease and Health Care Costs
John J. Halperin, MD   January 14, 2026
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2843880

Conclusions and Relevance  

“In this retrospective cohort study, LD presented a large financial burden to the health care system and patients, especially for those with disseminated disease. These findings highlight the need for effective preventive measures to reduce costs for patients and the health care system.”

Eli N. Perencevich, MD, MS
Editor in Chief, JAMA Network Open

Dear Dr. Perencevich,

Halperin’s publication just validated what the plaintiffs were claiming from the TORREY v. IDSA racketeering lawsuit; it became too expensive to treat “disseminated disease” (chronic Lyme) so insurance companies were denying claims for treatment beyond the one-size-fits-all IDSA treatment guideline. It should be no surprise that all eight insurance companies immediately settled out of court.

TORREY v. IDSA court document
https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LymeDisease.pdf

This refusal to reimburse has played a pivotal role in the high rates of suicide within the Lyme disease community.

1. Suicide and Lyme and associated diseases
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5481283/

2. TOUCHED BY LYME: The thorny question of (no) insurance coverage for Lyme
https://www.lymedisease.org/touched-by-lyme-the-thorny-question-of-no-insurance-coverage-for-lyme

So now we’re calling it “disseminated disease?”  Lyme disease is a systemic infectious disease; is there localized syphilis or localized leptospirosis?

Questions to Google’s Gemini AI:

1. Does a chronic relapsing seronegative disease fit the vaccine model?

AI Response:

A chronic, relapsing, seronegative disease does not fit the traditional vaccine model, which is primarily designed to prevent initial infections. The characteristics you describe present significant scientific and commercial challenges for vaccine developers.

2. Since you agreed that a chronic, relapsing, seronegative disease does not fit the traditional vaccine model, this in and of itself would be the motivation to conceal any and all evidence of persistent infection wouldn’t you agree? This so-called debate is not a debate at all and deserves a criminal investigation. Who would be a suitable candidate to approach for a legal case?

AI Response: 

Allegations of medical fraud are typically handled as civil matters, but they can become criminal if there is evidence of gross negligence, recklessness, or intent to deceive, especially for financial gain.

Dr. Perencevich,

I want to make this crystal clear… Suppressing evidence of antibiotic resistance is not collaboration; it is collusion.

1. Peer-Reviewed Evidence of Persistence of Lyme Disease Spirochete
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S7ynlfLzmNCjKpPHQuVsa0-pmG-7nf23/view

The following is a list of over 700 peer-reviewed articles that support the evidence of persistence of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. It is organized into different categories—general, neuropsychiatric, dementia and congenital transmission.

2. Seronegativity in Lyme borreliosis and Other Spirochetal Infections 16 September 2003
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ycqvn5swemanpjau3le2y/Seronegativity.pdf?rlkey=70bkain5zukjadnyeksvmsc96&dl=0

“If false results are to be feared, it is the false negative result”

3. Congenital Transmission of Lyme
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ybo7c29xr2rjvtpxjh6gd/Congenital-Transmission-of-Lyme.pdf?rlkey=4p1u28pffoe7lofhvxgiowpxw&dl=0

I have spent the last fifteen years exposing the Lyme disease false public health narrative and have been published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, The BMJ, Arthritis and Rheumatology and JAMA. I can say with absolute certainty that it was the rush to create a vaccine that led to the deliberate mishandling of the disease. And here we have a publication funded by the next Lyme vaccine manufacturer and one of the defendants named in the racketeering lawsuit. I rest my case.

Respectfully Submitted,

Carl Tuttle
Independent Researcher
Hudson, NH

Letter to the Editor of the BMJ published June 2020 
https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1041/rr-1

Cc: Stephan D. Fihn, MD, MPH
Executive Deputy Editor

_______________

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Activism, Lyme, research

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