Ever wonder how the sausage gets made? In this episode, Dr. Amy and Lance take you backstage and discuss Maine bill LD1688, An Act to Encourage Continuing Education Relating to Certain Infection-Associated Chronic Conditions for Physicians and Nurses. It's like your own modern-day ⁠Schoolhouse Rock⁠! Dr. Amy reads her Bangor Daily News Op-Ed wherein she introduces the bill and we share our recent experience testifying in favor of it. We also share why we think it's so important for providers to become better educated about these conditions, why (we think) they are against this effort (even though we think they should be in favor of it), and what roles patients can play in this effort.

5 YEARS AND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS LATER, WE'RE STILL UNAWARE OF THE FULL EXTENT OF COVID

If you knew there was an illness costing the global economy ⁠$1 trillion⁠ per year, would you want to combat it? What if you learned this illness cost the U.S. economy ⁠$3.7 trillion⁠ over the past five years? Would it make a difference to know that an estimated ⁠400 million⁠ people are affected globally or that ⁠one-quarter of U.S. Marines⁠ are now experiencing long-term decreases in functional performance because of this illness, or that ⁠more than 272,000⁠ Mainers are impacted?

The illness I’m describing is Long COVID, a chronic condition lasting months to years following an initial period of COVID-19 infection. Continues at ⁠https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/03/18/opinion/opinion-contributor/were-still-unaware-of-the-full-extent-of-covid-joam40zk0w/⁠.

The bill we discuss: ⁠Maine's LD1688⁠, An Act to Encourage Continuing Education Relating to Certain Infection-Associated Chronic Conditions for Physicians and Nurses