• H.R. 2484/S.1967 will ensure access to Medicare-covered vision rehabilitation services for older adults who are blind or partially sighted. These vital services restore safety, independence and quality of life.

• This legislation will standardize Medicare coverage nationwide and add vision rehabilitation professionals to the Medicare program as eligible providers, making their specialized services available for the first time to Medicare beneficiaries.

• Vision rehabilitation professionals are uniquely trained and nationally certified to rehabilitate people with the entire spectrum of vision loss, from partial sight or low vision, to total blindness. Such professionals include orientation and mobility specialists, rehabilitation teachers, and low vision therapists.

• One in five older Americans - about 7.3 million people age 65 and older - reports some degree of vision impairment, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. More than 700,000 of these older adults are legally blind.

• Four eye diseases are the major causes of age-related vision loss - macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts. Glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy are especially prevalent among African Americans; Hispanics and Native Americans also have a high prevalence of diabetic retinopathy.

• Vision impairment is identified by the Alliance for Aging Research as one of the four leading causes of lost independence among older people. Costs for medical and long term care for older Americans who lose their independence each year are $26 billion greater than if they had remained independent that year.

• While vision loss cannot always be prevented, vision rehabilitation services can restore an individual's functional abilities, safety, and independence. Vision rehabilitation services can prevent falls, burns, and other injuries; and can enable visually impaired people to practice healthy behaviors in diet, exercise, and disease management - thus reducing health care and dependency costs.

• This legislation is endorsed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Optometric Association, the National Vision Rehabilitation Cooperative, the American Foundation for the Blind, the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Blinded Veterans Association, the National Council on the Aging and other major organizations in the aging and vision rehabilitation fields.

• Call or send a letter by FAX to your Member of Congress, asking him or her to cosponsor H.R.2484. Call or send a faxed letter to your two Senators, asking them to cosponsor S.1967. Visit our website: www.medicarenow.org to select and send e-mail letters directly to Congress.

• Join our grassroots network so you can receive updates about this legislation and continue to help. Send an e-mail to llidoff@att.net and ask her to add your name to our list of advocates.

• If you represent an organization, please ask your organization to endorse the bill. Send an e-mail to llidoff@att.net.

For more information, contact:

Lorraine Lidoff, Director
National Vision Rehabilitation Cooperative
(508) 487-5815
llidoff@att.net

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