I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3749 

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 program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 12, 2013 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself and Mr. BILIRAKIS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 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 program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medicare Demonstra5 tion of Coverage for Low Vision Devices Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION OF MEDICARE COVERAGE OF 

2 LOW VISION DEVICES AS DURABLE MEDICAL 

3 EQUIPMENT. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMONSTRATION

5 PROJECT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 1 

7 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this 

9 section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall com10 mence a project (in this section referred to as the 

11 ‘‘demonstration project’’) to demonstrate and evalu12 ate the impact of covering low vision devices (includ13 ing subsets of such devices) under part B of title 

14 XVIII of the Social Security Act in the same or 

15 similar manner as coverage is provided for durable 

16 medical equipment under such part. 

17 (2) LOW VISION DEVICE DEFINED.—In this sec18 tion, the term ‘‘low vision device’’ means a device, 

19 prescribed by a physician, that magnifies, enhances, 

20 or otherwise augments or interprets visual images ir21 respective of the size, form, or technological features 

22 of such device and does not include ordinary eye23 glasses or contact lenses or a device that is other24 wise available for non-prescription retail sale to the 

25 general public at a cost of less than $500. In the 

26 previous sentence, the term ‘‘ordinary eyeglasses or 


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1 contact lenses’’ means lenses that are intended to 

2 fully correct visual acuity or eliminate refractive 

3 error. 

4 (b) PROJECT DETAILS.— 

5 (1) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS.—An individual 

6 enrolled under such part is eligible to participate in 

7 the demonstration project if an ophthalmologist or 

8 optometrist, after a clinical evaluation, has deter9 mined and certifies through a prescription that fur10 nishing a low vision device to the individual is medi11 cally necessary. 

12 (2) NATIONAL SCOPE AND DURATION.—The 

13 demonstration project shall be national in scope and 

14 shall be conducted for a period of 5 years. 

15 (3) PROJECT DESIGN.—The Secretary shall de16 sign the demonstration project in a manner so as to 

17 provide a rich, well-structured, and defined data set 

18 from which inferences about the impact of the 

19 project can be made using appropriate statistical 

20 methods. 

21 (4) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the dem22 onstration project the Secretary shall consult with 

23 organizations of consumers with vision loss and 

24 other stakeholder organizations. 

25 (c) REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 180 

2 days after the last day of the third year of the dem3 onstration project, the Secretary shall submit to the 

4 Committee on Finance of the Senate and to the 

5 Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and 

6 Commerce of the House of Representatives a report 

7 that describes the progress and preliminary findings 

8 from the demonstration project. 

9 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the last day of the demonstration project and 

11 after solicitation and consideration of formal written 

12 input on the project from organizations representing 

13 consumers with vision loss and other stakeholder or14 ganizations, the Secretary shall submit to such Com15 mittees a final report on the project. Such report 

16 shall include an evaluation of the fiscal impact on 

17 the Medicare program of providing coverage of low 

18 vision devices and such other findings and rec19 ommendations as the Secretary deems appropriate. 

20 (d) FUNDING.—For fiscal year 2014 and for each of 

21 the four succeeding fiscal years, out of any funds in the 

22 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $2,500,000 is ap23 propriated to the Secretary to carry out the demonstration 

24 project. 

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