Lighthouse International Advocacy Newsletter (October Edition)
In this edition:
1. Lighthouse International President and CEO, Dr. Tara Cortes,
Testifies at New York State Assembly Hearing
2. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services Expand the Medicare Low Vision Demonstration Project
3. Vision Preservation Act of 2007
Introduced in United States House of Representatives
4. House of Representatives Passes
Vision Care for Kids Act of 2007
5. Presidential
Candidate Forum on Disability Issues
1. Lighthouse
International President and CEO, Dr. Tara Cortes, Testifies at New York State
Assembly Hearing
On September 25th, Dr. Tara Cortes, CEO and President of Lighthouse International, testified before a joint New York State Assembly committee hearing on Governor Spitzer's proposed Office for the Blind. The hearing was convened by the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities, Assembly Committee on Health, Assembly Committee on Children and Families, Assembly Committee on Education.
To read Dr. Cortes' Testimony, click here.
2. The Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services Expand the Medicare Low Vision Demonstration
Project
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced expansions of coverage for the Medicare Low-Vision Rehabilitation Demonstration Project.
The Demonstration Project expansion broadens the service area in the New York City and Atlanta Metropolitan areas. Residents of 8 more New York counties (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange Sullivan, Ulster, Nassau and Suffolk) will now be eligible for services, in addition to New York City residents who were previously entitled to participate. The Demonstration Project was also expanded in Atlanta to include 477 more zip codes spanning 31 different counties.
Additionally, CMS revised a rule to increase the number of hours of services a patient may receive from a lifetime maximum of 9 hours to 12 hours per calendar year. This rule will be effective April 2008.
You can read more about the Medicare Low Vision Demonstration Project by clicking here.
3. Vision
Preservation Act of 2007 Introduced in United States House of Representatives
On October 4th, members of the Congressional Vision Caucus, led by Representative Gene Green (D-TX), introduced the Vision Preservation Act of 2007. The legislation will create a comprehensive national public health strategy for vision care through vision loss prevention services and development of vision rehabilitation professionals. These programs will include public awareness campaigns, increased research through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and grants to train new vision rehabilitation professionals, among others.
Lighthouse International, along with other vision rehabilitation organizations, advocated for the introduction of this bill and assisted with the language of the legislation. We are currently working to obtain sponsors to introduce the bill in the Senate. You can read a more detailed description of the Vision Preservation Act of 2007 on our website.
For more details on the bill, including bill text, recent legislative action and full list of cosponsors, click here.
4. House of
Representatives Passes Vision Care for Kids Act of 2007
The United States House of Representatives passed the Vision Care for Kids Act by voice vote on October 15th. The legislation allows the federal government to award grants to the states that can then be applied towards existing state programs that promote three aspects of child vision care: detection, rehabilitation and education. The Vision Care for Kids Act must now pass the Senate, where it has been introduced as S 1117.
The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Representatives Gene Green (D-TX), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in the House and by Senators Kit Bond (R-MO) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) in the Senate. Over 150 Representatives signed onto the Vision Care for Kids Act of 2007 as cosponsors.
For more details on the bill, including bill text, recent legislative action and full list of cosponsors, click here.
5. Presidential Candidate Forum on Disability Issues
The
2008 presidential candidates will attend a national forum on equality,
opportunity and access on Friday, November 2nd. Throughout the day, the
presidential candidates and national disability leaders will speak on disability
issues. The event is hosted by Granite State Independent Living and will take
place in New Hampshire, the location of the first presidential primary.
The event will begin at
The Lighthouse International Advocacy Newsletter is a monthly update on the important legislative and policy issues affecting individuals with visual impairments. If you have any issues that you would like to see discussed in future editions or if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail us at advocacy@lighthouse.org.
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