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“The Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Services Act” John is committed to helping visually impaired seniors in New Hampshire and across the country live safer and more independent lives. This dedication to the more than 6.6 million seniors with some degree of vision impairment has resulted in a five-year vision rehabilitation services demonstration project approved by the United States Senate and underway in New Hampshire and five other locations across the country. Modeled after the “Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Services Act of 2003,” which he introduced on May 21, 2003, the initiative takes steps toward standardizing national coverage under Medicare for vision rehabilitation services provided in the home by physicians, vision rehabilitation professionals, and occupational therapists. The low-vision rehabilitation services demonstration program began on April 1, 2006, and will run through March 31, 2011; it consists of six demonstration sites – New Hampshire, North Carolina, Kansas, Washington state, New York City, and Atlanta. At these locations, low-vision rehabilitation services will be provided in the home by vision rehabilitation professionals under the supervision of a physician. At the conclusion of the demonstration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will produce a report based on the data collected during the study to determine whether low-vision rehabilitation services should be covered nationwide for all Medicare recipients across the country. John’s initiative has been recognized by Lighthouse
International and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and has
been endorsed by several organizations for the blind and visually
impaired including: New Hampshire Association for the Blind; New
England College of Optometry; New England Eye Institute; American
Optometric Association; American Council for the Blind; The Glaucoma
Foundation; National Council on Aging; and |
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