Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Services Act: S.1095/H.R.1902
OMNIBUS BILL PRESENTS MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT!
With the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 (the Omnibus bill), an exciting five-year demonstration project will be launched, beginning July 1, 2004, to provide national coverage for vision rehabilitation services, which includes services provided by vision rehabilitation professionals. In addition, the Act includes report language that clarifies and reinforces the purpose of the policy study legislated by the Medicare Prescription Drug bill which was enacted by Congress in December 2003. The Appropriations Act specifies that by January 2005 the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) develop policy recommendations that will allow vision rehabilitation professionals to provide services in patients' homes and environs.
What does this two-pronged victory mean for coverage of vision rehabilitation services and the work performed by vision rehabilitation professionals?
- CMS is able to spend up to $2 million in the coming year to implement national coverage of vision rehabilitation services, including those provided in the home by vision rehabilitation professionals under general supervision.
- Meanwhile, CMS will be examining problems and issues that have proven to be stumbling blocks for our profession to date.
- The National Vision Rehabilitation Cooperative and other interested organizations are specifically named as entities with which CMS must consult while the study is being conducted;
- Once the study is completed, the demonstration project will continue while we seek Congressional approval to adopt final statutory language to establish these services on a permanent basis.
In addition, when taken together, the study and the demonstration project establish vision rehabilitation services provided by vision rehabilitation professionals as valuable for Medicare beneficiaries and provide us with an outstanding opportunity to gain our full goal of permanent Medicare coverage for these services.
Many, many thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to educate Congress about vision rehabilitation services, and especially to all of you who, as visitors to this site, contacted your legislators and monitored the progress of our advocacy efforts. Now the entire field of vision rehabilitation needs to strategize and take action to meet the challenges involved in assuring successful outcomes for these groundbreaking initiatives.
For more information, please contact
Lorraine Lidoff, Director
National Vision Rehabilitation Cooperative
250 South Eastham Street
Eastham, MA 02642
Phone and Fax: (508) 240-6510
E-mail: llidoff250@comcast.net
www.medicarenow.org