[NFBOH-Cleveland] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] Medicare Information to Become Accessible to Blind Beneficiaries

[Cheryl Fields]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Danielsen, Chris via NFBNet-Members-List"
<nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2018 13:57:40 +0000
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Medicare Information to Become
Accessible to Blind Beneficiaries
To: "nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org" <nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Medicare Information to Become Accessible to Blind Beneficiaries

Blind Americans Reach Agreement with CMS on Accessibility of Medicare
Information

Baltimore, Maryland (April 25, 2018): The National Federation of the
Blind and three blind individuals have reached a settlement agreement
with the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS). The settlement resolves the allegation
brought forth in a 2016 lawsuit that CMS discriminated against blind
and low-vision beneficiaries by failing to provide meaningful and
equal access to Medicare information.

The agreement requires that CMS set up processes so that beneficiaries
can make a single request to receive all communications and notices
from Medicare in an accessible format, such as large print, Braille,
audio, or electronic data. Additional terms include that CMS will:

*         Provide accessible, fillable forms for beneficiaries on Medicare.gov.

*         Issue accessibility best practices to Medicare Health and Drug Plans.

*         Implement a policy that extends the time in which a
beneficiary must answer time-sensitive communications by the number of
days it takes CMS to process the beneficiary's accessible format
request.

*         Develop a plan to promote the availability of accessible
materials to Medicare beneficiaries.

CMS has already begun implementing critical procedural changes that
include training employees on compliance with Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation act of 1973, implementing testing requirements to
ensure that information posted on Medicare.gov is accessible,
providing CMS's most popular publications in accessible e-book formats
at Medicare.gov, and establishing a Customer Accessibility Resource
Staff to coordinate and support CMS's accessible Medicare
communications. The agreement prohibits CMS from changing any of these
new practices in ways that would result in less effective access to
Medicare information for blind individuals.

"Thousands of blind and low-vision people depend on Medicare benefits
and must be able to apply for, understand, and manage those benefits
independently," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National
Federation of the Blind. "This agreement will ensure that blind
Medicare beneficiaries have equal access to critical and often
time-sensitive information about their individual benefits and this
vital program."

"The Medicare benefits a person receives are only as good as the
access they have to them," said Silvia Yee, senior staff attorney for
the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. "Without equal access
to vital Medicare information, blind people not only face greater
difficulty getting their health care needs met, they also run a higher
risk of losing services and supports altogether when they can't
properly access details about Medicare plan benefits, review services
provided, or confirm how much those services will cost. DREDF applauds
this necessary step forward by CMS in providing Americans who are
blind --including thousands of aging low-vision Medicare
beneficiaries--access to necessary information that non-disabled
people get to take for granted."

The plaintiffs were represented by Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP and the
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF).

###

About the National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in
Baltimore, is the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind
Americans. Founded in 1940, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters,
and divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The
NFB defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides
information and support to families with blind children, older
Americans who are losing vision, and more. We believe in the hopes and
dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into
reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at
www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org>.

About Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF): Founded in
1979, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund is a leading
national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals
with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities.
DREDF works to advance the civil and human rights of people with
disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public
policy and legislative development. Learn more about DREDF's work at:
dredf.org<http://dredf.org>


CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen at nfb.org<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>

Lawrence Carter-Long
Communications Director
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
(510) 644-2555, extension 5256
LCarterLong at dredf.org<mailto:LCarterLong at dredf.org>

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-- 
Wishing You All the Best,

Cheryl E. Fields


A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human
life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will
never sit.
--D. Elton Trueblood