,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hee  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #bg1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,hall 7for himself1 ,ms4           
,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,terry1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1
 ,mr4 ,loebsack1 ,ms4 ,bonamici1 ,mr4   
,doggett1 ,mr4 ,ellison1 ,mr4           
,blumenauer1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,ms4      
,norton1 ,mr4 ,keating1 and ,mr4        
,whitfield7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to amend title ,,xix of the    
,social ,security ,act to require       
,medicaid coverage of optometrists4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,optometric ,equity in ,medicaid   
,act4  #b4 ,requiring coverage of       
services of optometrists  7a7 ,in       
,general ,section #aije7;a77#e7 of the  
,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#acif;d7a77#e77 is amended--  7#a7 by   
striking and before 7,b72 and  7#b7 by  
inserting before the semicolon at the   
end the following3 1 and 7,c7 medical   

and other health services 7as defined in
 section #ahfa7s77 as authorized by     
,state law1 furnished by an optometrist 
7described in section #ahfa7r77#d77 to  
the extent such services may be         
performed under ,state law4  7b7        
,effective ,date  7#a7 ,in general      
,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71  
the amendments made by subsection 7a7   
shall take effect #ij days after the    
date of the enactment of this ,act and  
shall apply to services furnished and   
other actions required on or after such 
date4  7#b7 ,rule for changes requiring 
state legislation ,in the case of a     
,state plan for medical assistance under
 title ,,xix of the ,social ,security   
,act which the ,secretary of ,health and
 ,human ,services determines requires   
,state legislation 7other than          
legislation appropriating funds7 in     
order for the plan to meet the          
additional requirement imposed by the   
amendments made by subsection 7a71 the  
,state plan shall not be regarded as    

failing to comply with the requirements 
of such title solely on the basis of its
 failure to meet this additional        
requirement before the first day of the 
first calendar quarter beginning after  
the close of the first regular session  
of the ,state legislature that begins   
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4 ,for purposes of the previous     
sentence1 in the case of a ,state that  
has a #b-year legislative session1 each 
year of such session shall be deemed to 
be a separate regular session of the    
,state legislature4