TITLE: Urging Congress to pass the Steve Gleason Enduring Voices Act of 2017.

SUMMARY: Urging Congress to pass the Steve Gleason Enduring Voices Act of 2017.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Many Americans living with speech and communication disabilities rely on speech-generating devices to transmit messages to loved ones and care providers; and WHEREAS, In 2015, the U.S. Congress increased the accessibility of speech-generating devices by passing the Steve Gleason Act, which created a temporary exception to a rental cap placed on durable medical equipment by the Medicare program; before this legislation was enacted, beneficiaries of SGDs were required to rent such devices for a 13-month period before ownership, and Medicare funding ceased if a patient took up residence at a nursing home, hospice, or hospital during that time; and WHEREAS, Under the Steve Gleason Enduring Voices Act of 2017, Title XVIII of the Social Security Act would be amended to make permanent the removal of the SGD rental cap; the three-year exception is currently scheduled to expire in October 2018, which would severely limit those suffering from such neurodegenerative diseases as ALS, Parkinson's, and multiple sclerosis from maintaining long-term use of technology that affords them the ability to communicate; and WHEREAS, Speech-generating devices have allowed some of the most vulnerable among us to experience a greater quality of life, and it is imperative for the federal government to preserve the Medicare rental cap exception in order to prevent any disruption in access to such vital resources; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas, 1st Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to pass the Steve Gleason Enduring Voices Act of 2017; and, be it further RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.