,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cgdi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #ab1       
#bjac,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new
 ,york 7for herself and ,mr4 ,bilirakis7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was referred to the ,committee on       
,energy and ,commerce1 and in addition  
to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1  
for a period to be subsequently         
determined by the ,speaker1 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 program4  #a4 ,short title    
,this ,act may be cited as the ,medicare
 ,demonstration of ,coverage for ,low   
,vision ,devices ,act of #bjac4  #b4    
,demonstration of ,medicare coverage of 
low vision devices as durable medical   
equipment  7a7 ,establishment of        

demonstration project  7#a7 ,in general 
,beginning not later than #a year after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,health and ,human    
,services 7in this section referred to  
as the ,secretary7 shall commence a     
project 7in this section referred to as 
the demonstration project7 to           
demonstrate and evaluate the impact of  
covering low vision devices 7including  
subsets of such devices7 under part ,b  
of title ,,xviii of the ,social         
,security ,act in the same or similar   
manner as coverage is provided for      
durable medical equipment under such    
part4  7#b7 ,low vision device defined  
,in this section1 the term low vision   
device means a device1 prescribed by a  
physician1 that magnifies1 enhances1 or 
otherwise augments or interprets visual 
images irrespective of the size1 form1  
or technological features of such device
 and does not include ordinary          
eyeglasses or contact lenses or a device
 that is otherwise available for        

non-prescription retail sale to the     
general public at a cost of less than   
#ejj4 ,in the previous sentence1 the    
term ordinary eyeglasses or contact     
lenses means lenses that are intended to
 fully correct visual acuity or         
eliminate refractive error4  7b7        
,project details  7#a7 ,eligible        
participants ,an individual enrolled    
under such part is eligible to          
participate in the demonstration project
 if an ophthalmologist or optometrist1  
after a clinical evaluation1 has        
determined and certifies through a      
prescription that furnishing a low      
vision device to the individual is      
medically necessary4  7#b7 ,national    
scope and duration ,the demonstration   
project shall be national in scope and  
shall be conducted for a period of #e   
years4  7#c7 ,project design ,the       
,secretary shall design the             
demonstration project in a manner so as 
to provide a rich1 well-structured1 and 
defined data set from which inferences  

about the impact of the project can be  
made using appropriate statistical      
methods4  7#d7 ,consultation ,in        
conducting the demonstration project the
 ,secretary shall consult with          
organizations of consumers with vision  
loss and other stakeholder              
organizations4  7c7 ,reports  7#a7      
,interim report ,not later than #ahj    
days after the last day of the third    
year of the demonstration project1 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 project4
  7#b7 ,final report ,not later than    
#ahj 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  

organizations1 the ,secretary shall     
submit to such ,committees a final      
report on the project4 ,such report     
shall include an evaluation of the      
fiscal impact on the ,medicare program  
of providing coverage of low vision     
devices and such other findings and     
recommendations as the ,secretary deems 
appropriate4  7d7 ,funding ,for fiscal  
year #bjad and for each of the four     
succeeding fiscal years1 out of any     
funds in the ,treasury not otherwise    
appropriated1 #b1ejj1jjj is appropriated
 to the ,secretary to carry out the     
demonstration project4