Completely coincidentally, admitting that chronic Lyme exists, and, worse yet, coming up with an accepted way of diagnosing it, could instantly create a pool of hundreds of thousands of Americans covered by insurance policies that would then be obligated to pay indefinitely for treatment that costs up to $1000/month for oral amoxicillin, and perhaps $10,000/month for the more-effective intravenous drugs.

The conspiracy theory cuts both ways, though: a common conspiracy theory holds that massive numbers of people are being pumped full of painkillers and drugs that they don't need by a multinational conspiracy between the drug companies and the FDA.