[Nfbf-l] Fw: You're Invited!--Low Vision Devices and Medicare--Joint ACB/AFB Teleseminar Sponsored by HumanWare: March 12, 3pm ET

[Sherri]

You're Invited!--Low Vision Devices and Medicare--Joint ACB/AFB Teleseminar 
Sponsored by HumanWare: March 12, 3pm ETSeveral groups are sponsoring this 
seminar. Thought it might be of interest. Thanks to Bob, a member of the 
NFBCF chapter for passing this along.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Robert L.Lessne Ph.D
To: Sherri ; Shanti Aaron ; Karen Sinnreich ; sayoung125 at att.net ; 'Devin 
Lessne' ; danalessne at gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 8:48 PM
Subject: FW: You're Invited!--Low Vision Devices and Medicare--Joint ACB/AFB 
Teleseminar Sponsored by HumanWare: March 12, 3pm ET






From: AFB DirectConnect [mailto:MRichert at afb.net]
Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 2:27 PM
To: AFB Subscriber
Subject: You're Invited!--Low Vision Devices and Medicare--Joint ACB/AFB 
Teleseminar Sponsored by HumanWare: March 12, 3pm ET









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 at 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!

You can unsubscribe at any time. To remove your name from this mailing list, 
or to find out what other newsletters are available from AFB, visit 
http://www.afb.org/myafbnewsletter.aspx.