Of course it will take time to get the Medicare system ready for this new benefit. We know that. For the past year Congressional Glaucoma Caucus members have been doing all they can to educate the public about glaucoma and to provide free glaucoma screenings to their constituents with the help of volunteer physicians and the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation. The foundation has organized free screenings in the House of Representatives, the District of Columbia, Texas, New York, Tennessee, Maryland, Florida, Virginia in venues such as churches, colleges, health fairs, senior citizen centers and the like. We are at a fortunate time in the battle against glaucoma.
Testing is quick, painless and accurate.
Very efficacious new medications and improved surgical techniques mean that screenings are very cost effective. Next year, when Medicare coverage begins, millions of our fellow citizens will be covered. But more will not. The next goal for the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus is to make glaucoma screening a covered benefit for all Federal employees and others. The Foundation will also be sponsoring a study by leading glaucoma specialists and the Rand Institute to further document the validity of screening.