You’re Invited!–Low Vision Devices and Medicare–Joint ACB/AFB Teleseminar Sponsored by HumanWare: March 12, 3pm ET

Ray Campbell of the Illinois Council of the Blind made me aware of this event. I’ll hopefully be present, will you? Check this out!

YOU'RE INVITED!
Making it Clearer: Medicare Coverage of Low Vision Devices Pending
Legislation, Policy Implications, and What You Can Do About It

A Free Teleseminar Jointly Hosted by:

The American Foundation for the Blind

and

The American Council of the Blind

Wednesday, March 12, 2014, 3:00 p.m., Eastern

***Sponsored by HumanWare***

For further information, contact: 

Mark Richert, Esq.
Director, Public Policy, AFB
(202) 469-6833
MRichert@afb.net 

You are invited to participate in a free national teleseminar jointly hosted
by ACB and AFB to learn about recent activities in the U.S. Congress to
promote Medicare coverage of low vision devices. We are grateful to
HumanWare, www.HumanWare.com, a global leader in low vision and other
assistive technologies, for their gracious support which is making this
teleseminar possible.

There is no need to register or RSVP for this free teleseminar. To join the
call, simply dial the toll-free number below at least ten minutes prior to
the March 12, 3pm Eastern, start time. Dial:

1-866-939-3921

Tell the operator that you are joining the "low vision devices" call.

We look forward to a lively discussion with all who are interested in
advancing the cause of Medicare coverage for low vision devices and other
assistive technologies. During the teleseminar, topics to be covered will
include pending legislation in Congress, the array of policy implications of
a permanent change in the Medicare program, and how advocates can
participate in the policy process.

Background

For decades, the vision loss community has been advocating for Medicare's
coverage of assistive technologies, particularly low vision devices.
Currently, Medicare will not pay for any device that happens to use a lens,
regardless of whether such device incorporates any other features. The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency
responsible for the management of Medicare, has ruled that devices, such as
low vision devices, that use a lens are excluded from coverage just as are
eye glasses or contact lenses except in very narrow circumstances.

Now, for the first time, federal legislation would begin to change this
unacceptable national policy by establishing a nationwide Medicare
demonstration project to evaluate the fiscal impact of a permanent change in
Medicare coverage to pay for low vision devices. The legislation, H.R. 3749,
introduced by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), would
initiate a five-year demonstration project that would put low vision devices
in the hands of Medicare beneficiaries who, after a clinical evaluation by
an ophthalmologist or optometrist, can benefit from a low vision device and
for whom such devices are medically necessary. The legislation is careful to
require that the demonstration project be genuinely national in scope and is
explicitly designed to yield reliable data and meaningful results. Once the
legislation is enacted and the demonstration project is successfully
completed, Congress will have significantly richer data upon which to
consider changes to the Medicare program to make coverage of low vision
devices, especially the most costly devices, a permanent feature of the
program. Precisely how many individuals will receive low vision devices and
how many physicians across the country will participate in the demo project
will need to be determined by CMS, working in consultation with stakeholder
groups, as it develops and implements the project. The legislation makes
$12.5 million available for the project over five years.

Advocates are encouraged to contact your members of the U.S. House of
Representatives and urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 3749. We are actively
working on Senate champions and will keep you updated as progress is made.
Thank you for your advocacy!