SENATE APPROVES SUNUNU MEDICARE LOW-VISION REHABILITATION SERVICES MEASURE

submitted by John Barrett, Supervisor
Library Services to Persons with Disabilities
Talking Books Section
N.H State Library

Amendment to Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Bill aims to help seniors lead more safe and independent lives

The Senate today (10/27) approved a measure introduced by United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) that seeks to enable vision impaired seniors to live safely in their homes by providing Medicare beneficiaries with vision rehabilitation therapy. Sununu's amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill would provide support for Medicare's Low-Vision Rehabilitation Services Demonstration Project, which he helped create during the 108th Congress.

"Vision impairment among older Americans too often contributes to serious injuries such as hip fractures and burns that frequently require hospitalization and extensive treatment. Prevention and intervention are paramount to avoiding these debilitating and costly incidents," said Sununu. "The amendment that passed the Senate today is vital to ensuring that Medicare's Low-Vision Rehabilitation Services Demonstration Project is able to provide vision impaired seniors with the rehabilitative services they need to live safe and independent lives. At the same time, helping low-vision Medicare beneficiaries to avoid injuring themselves saves the program valuable resources."

Sununu is a longstanding legislative advocate for standardizing national coverage under Medicare for vision rehabilitation therapy provided in-home by physicians, vision rehabilitation professionals and occupational therapists. In May 2003, he introduced the bipartisan "Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Services Act of 2003", legislation that resulted in the creation of a five-year, nationwide vision rehabilitation services demonstration project. The measure was passed as part of the Senate version of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act and the subsequent demonstration project was adopted in the conference report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which the Senate approved in January 2004.

His amendment to the Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Bill would provide $5 million to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct the Low-Vision Rehabilitation Services Project, currently under design by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and scheduled to be implemented in early 2006. The cost of the demonstration program is completely offset by reducing other spending in the bill by $5 million.

In introducing his amendment on October 25th, Sununu made the following remarks on the Senate floor: "Mr. President, this amendment calls for $5 million to be allocated to a vision rehabilitation therapy demonstration program under Medicare. It is an amendment that is fully offset. This is a demonstration program that was established under report language crafted by Chairman Specter last year. This is an opportunity to give seniors additional independence by helping to cover some of the cost of vision rehabilitation therapy for those who have vision impairment. It helps them to do the very basic things of getting around their home, getting outside the home, doing errands. By maintaining this independence by dealing with vision problems, we reduce the risk of injury and the costs of injuries associated with vision impairment.

"As I indicated, it is offset. It is an existing program. This additional $5 million in funding would ensure that the demonstration is conducted across a number of States, a number of cities, so that CMS has the data it needs to judge the efficacy of the program."

-Reprinted with permission