[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2050 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2050
To provide for a Medicare demonstration project to evaluate the fiscal
impact of covering low vision devices as durable medical equipment
under part B of the Medicare program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 6, 2017
Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York (for herself, Mr. Bilirakis, and
Mr. Cohen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a Medicare demonstration project to evaluate the fiscal
impact of covering low vision devices as durable medical equipment
under part B of the Medicare program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Demonstration of Coverage
for Low Vision Devices Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ON MEDICARE COVERAGE OF LOW VISION
DEVICES AS DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
(a) Establishment of Demonstration Project.--
(1) In general.--Beginning not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services (in this section referred to as the
``Secretary'') shall commence a project (in this section
referred to as the ``demonstration project'') to demonstrate
and evaluate the fiscal impact of covering low vision devices
(including subsets of such devices) under part B of title XVIII
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395j et seq.) in the
same or similar manner as coverage is provided for durable
medical equipment under such part.
(2) Low vision device defined.--In this section, the term
``low vision device'' means a device, prescribed by a
physician, that magnifies, enhances, or otherwise augments or
interprets visual images irrespective of the size, form, or
technological features of such device and does not include
ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses. In the previous
sentence, the term ``ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses''
means lenses that are intended to fully correct visual acuity
or fully eliminate refractive error.
(b) Project Details.--
(1) Eligible participants.--An individual enrolled under
such part is eligible to participate in the demonstration
project if an ophthalmologist or optometrist, after a clinical
evaluation, has determined and certifies through a prescription
that furnishing a low vision device to the individual is
medically necessary.
(2) National scope and duration.--The demonstration project
shall be national in scope and shall be conducted for a period
of 5 years.
(3) Project design.--The Secretary shall design the
demonstration project in a manner so as to provide a rich,
well-structured, and defined data set from which inferences
about the fiscal impact on the Federal Supplementary Medical
Insurance Trust Fund under section 1841 of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395t) resulting from the permanent coverage
under part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1395j et seq.) of low vision devices (including coverage
for subcategories or subsets of such devices) can be made using
appropriate statistical methods. To the maximum extent
possible, such demonstration project shall evaluate the fiscal
impact of permanent coverage under such part for the most
function-rich, most powerful, and most expensive low vision
devices.
(4) Consultation.--In conducting the demonstration project
the Secretary shall consult with organizations of consumers
with vision loss and other stakeholder organizations.
(c) Reports.--
(1) Interim report.--Not later than 180 days after the last
day of the third year of the demonstration project, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the
Senate and to the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that
describes the progress and preliminary findings from the
demonstration project.
(2) Final report.--Not later than 180 days after the last
day of the demonstration project and after solicitation and
consideration of formal written input on the project from
organizations representing consumers with vision loss and other
stakeholder organizations, the Secretary shall submit to such
Committees a final report on the project. Such report shall
include an evaluation of the fiscal impact on the Medicare
program under part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) of providing coverage of low vision
devices (including coverage for subcategories or subsets of
such devices) and such other findings and recommendations as
the Secretary deems appropriate.
(d) Funding.--For fiscal year 2018 and for each of the four
succeeding fiscal years, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, $2,500,000 is appropriated to the Secretary to carry out
the demonstration project.
<all>