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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 577 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 577

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 1, 2009

     Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
 To establish a grant program to provide vision care to children, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Vision Care for Kids Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS REGARDING VISION CARE FOR CHILDREN.

    Part Q of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280h et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 399Z-1. GRANTS REGARDING VISION CARE FOR CHILDREN.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may award grants to 
States on the basis of an established review process for the purpose of 
complementing existing State efforts for--
            ``(1) providing comprehensive eye examinations (as defined 
        in subsection (i)) by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist 
        for eligible children (as defined in subsection (b)) who have 
        been previously identified through a vision screening or eye 
        examination by a licensed health care provider or vision 
        screener as needing such services, with priority given to 
        children who are under the age of 9 years;
            ``(2) providing treatment or services to such children, 
        subsequent to the examinations described in paragraph (1), that 
        are necessary to correct vision problems; and
            ``(3) developing and disseminating, to parents, teachers, 
        and health care practitioners, educational materials on 
        recognizing signs of visual impairment in children.
    ``(b) Eligible Children.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term 
        `eligible child' means, with respect to an examination 
        described in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) or a treatment or 
        service described in paragraph (2) of such subsection and with 
        respect to a State, a child who is a low-income child (as 
        defined by the State) and who--
                    ``(A) is not eligible for medical assistance under 
                the State plan under title XIX of such Act;
                    ``(B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), is not eligible 
                for child health assistance under the State child 
                health plan under title XXI of the Social Security Act;
                    ``(C) subject to paragraph (2)(B), does not have 
                health insurance coverage (as defined in section 2791) 
                in the group market or in the individual market (as 
                such terms are defined in such section) and is not a 
                beneficiary or participant under a group health plan 
                (as defined in such section); and
                    ``(D) is not receiving assistance under any State 
                health compensation program or under any other Federal 
                or State health benefits program for such examination, 
                treatment, or service, respectively.
            ``(2) Inclusion of certain low-income children with health 
        benefits.--With respect to an examination described in 
        paragraph (1) of subsection (a) or a treatment or service 
        described in paragraph (2) of such subsection and with respect 
        to a State--
                    ``(A) paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to a child 
                who is eligible for child health assistance under the 
                State child health plan under title XXI of the Social 
                Security Act (whether or not such child is enrolled 
                under such plan), if such plan does not provide for 
                coverage of such examination, treatment, or service, 
                respectively; and
                    ``(B) paragraph (1)(C) shall not apply to a child 
                described in such paragraph if no amount is payable 
                under the coverage or plan described in such paragraph 
                for such examination, treatment, or service, 
                respectively.
    ``(c) Criteria.--The Secretary, in consultation with appropriate 
professional and patient organizations including individuals with 
knowledge of age appropriate vision services, shall develop criteria--
            ``(1) governing the operation of the grant program under 
        subsection (a); and
            ``(2) for the collection of data related to vision 
        assessment and the utilization of follow-up services.
    ``(d) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Secretary an application in 
such form, made in such manner, and containing such information as the 
Secretary may require, including--
            ``(1) information on existing Federal, Federal-State, or 
        State-funded children's vision programs;
            ``(2) a plan for the use of grant funds, including how 
        funds will be used to complement existing State efforts 
        (including possible partnerships with non-profit entities);
            ``(3) a plan to determine if an eligible child has been 
        identified as provided for in subsection (a);
            ``(4) an assurance that funds will be used consistent with 
        this section;
            ``(5) a description of how funds will be used to provide 
        examinations, treatments, and services, consistent with this 
        section; and
            ``(6) an assurance that, in providing examinations, 
        treatments, and services through use of such grant, the State 
        will give priority to eligible children with the lowest income.
    ``(e) Evaluations.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), a State shall agree that, not later than 1 year after 
the date on which amounts under the grant are first received by the 
State, and annually thereafter while receiving amounts under the grant, 
the State will submit to the Secretary an evaluation of the operations 
and activities carried out under the grant, including--
            ``(1) an assessment of the utilization of vision services 
        and the status of children receiving these services as a result 
        of the activities carried out under the grant;
            ``(2) the collection, analysis, and reporting of children's 
        vision data according to guidelines prescribed by the 
        Secretary; and
            ``(3) such other information as the Secretary may require.
    ``(f) Limitations in Expenditure of Grant.--A grant may be made 
under subsection (a) only if the State involved agrees that the State 
will expend amounts received under such grant as follows:
            ``(1) The State will expend at least 80 percent of such 
        amounts for the purposes described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
        such subsection.
            ``(2) The State will not expend more than 10 percent of 
        such amounts to carry out the purpose described in paragraph 
        (3) of such subsection.
            ``(3) The State will not expend more than 10 percent of 
        such amounts for administrative purposes.
    ``(g) Matching Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--With respect to the costs of the 
        activities to be carried out with a grant under subsection (a), 
        a condition for the receipt of the grant is that the State 
        involved agrees to make available (directly or through 
        donations from public or private entities) non-Federal 
        contributions toward such costs in an amount that is not less 
        than 25 percent of such costs.
            ``(2) Determination of amount contributed.--Non-Federal 
        contributions required in paragraph (1) may be in cash or in 
        kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or 
        services. Amounts provided by the Federal Government, or 
        services assisted or subsidized to any significant extent by 
        the Federal Government, may not be included in determining the 
        amount of such non-Federal contributions.
    ``(h) Supplement Not Supplant.--A State that receives a grant under 
this section shall ensure that amounts received under such grant will 
be used to supplement, and not supplant, any other Federal, State, or 
local funds available to carry out activities of the type carried out 
under the grant.
    ``(i) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Child.--The term `child' means an individual who--
                    ``(A) has not attained 18 years of age; or
                    ``(B) has not attained 19 years of age and is a 
                full-time student in a secondary school (or in the 
                equivalent level of vocational or technical training).
            ``(2) Comprehensive eye examination.--The term 
        `comprehensive eye examination' includes an assessment of a 
        patient's history, general medical observation, external and 
        ophthalmoscopic examination, visual acuity, ocular alignment 
        and motility, refraction, and as appropriate, binocular vision 
        or gross visual fields, performed by an optometrist or an 
        ophthalmologist.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated--
            ``(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;
            ``(2) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and
            ``(3) $14,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 
        2014.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 31, 2009.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.
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