[Diabetes-Talk] FW: AARP-backed Bill Would Make Medical Devices Accessible to Visually Impaired People

[joystigile at gmail.com]

Hi Milton,
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful letter of support and encouragement from
AARP for those of us who are trying to use inaccessible medical equipment
and for those of us that are visually impaired who are holding our breath
for medical equipment that will be useable right out of the box!
Warmly, Joy


-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Milton
via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2024 3:32 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Milton <mota1252 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Diabetes-Talk] FW: AARP-backed Bill Would Make Medical Devices
Accessible to Visually Impaired People

The following came to my Inbox.

 

 

AARP-backed Bill Would Make Medical Devices Accessible to Visually Impaired
People

By Natalie Missakian, March 22, 2024 05:26 PM

 

Makers of medical devices such as insulin pumps and glucose monitors would
need to make them accessible for people who are blind or visually impaired,
under legislation endorsed by AARP.

 

We wrote to federal lawmakers March 15 in support of the Medical Device
Nonvisual Accessibility Act of 2024. The bill, introduced in January by
Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) and Mike Braun (R-Indiana), would
require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop rules to ensure
devices with digital readouts include accessibility features for the blind
and visually impaired. A bipartisan companion bill was introduced in the
House in 2023.

 

Roughly 6 in 10 people who are blind or visually impaired in the U.S. are 65
or older, and more than a quarter of U.S. adults 71 and older are visually
impaired, AARP Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Bill Sweeney
wrote in an endorsement letter to the bill's sponsors.

 

"People with all types of disabilities, including blindness and low vision,
should be able to benefit from technologies that help them improve their
health and make their lives easier," Sweeney wrote. "Ensuring that nonvisual
features are incorporated into new medical devices will promote the
independence and control that older Americans need to successfully age in
their homes and communities - where they want to be."

 

The legislation would bring medical devices in line with most smartphones
and computers, which include these accessibility features, Hassan said in a
news release. There would be exceptions if features would change the
fundamental nature of the device.

 

Read our letters to House and Senate lawmakers and keep up with AARP's eye
health coverage.

Letters to HousE:
https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/politics/advocacy/2024/03/medical-devi
ce-nonvisual-accessibility-act-house.pdf

Letters to Senate:
https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/politics/advocacy/2024/03/medical-devi
ce-nonvisual-accessibility-act-senate.pdf

AARP's eye health coverage:
https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/eye-center/

 

Natalie Missakian covers federal and state policy and writes AARP's Fighting
for You Every Day blog. She previously worked as a reporter for the New
Haven Register and daily newspapers in Ohio. She has also written for the
AARP Bulletin, the Hartford Business Journal and other publications.

 

Original source:

 

https://blog.aarp.org/fighting-for-you/medical-device-visually-impaired-acce
ssibilityRichard, USA

"At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you."

-- Wolfgang Von Goethe 

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