I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2050 
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 
APRIL 6, 2017 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and 
Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 pro-
gram. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medicare Demonstra-
tion of Coverage for Low Vision Devices Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ON MEDICARE COV-
ERAGE OF LOW VISION DEVICES AS DURABLE 
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT. 
(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
DEMONSTRATION 
PROJECT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall com-
mence a project (in this section referred to as the 
‘‘demonstration project’’) to demonstrate and evalu-
ate the fiscal impact of covering low vision devices 
(including subsets of such devices) under part B of 
title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395j et seq.) in the same or similar manner as cov-
erage is provided for durable medical equipment 
under such part. 
(2) LOW VISION DEVICE DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘low vision device’’ means a device, 
prescribed by a physician, that magnifies, enhances, 
or otherwise augments or interprets visual images ir-
respective of the size, form, or technological features 
of such device and does not include ordinary eye-
glasses or contact lenses. In the previous sentence, 
the term ‘‘ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses’’ 
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means lenses that are intended to fully correct visual 
acuity or fully eliminate refractive error. 
(b) PROJECT DETAILS.— 
(1) ELIGIBLE
PARTICIPANTS.—An individual 
enrolled under such part is eligible to participate in 
the demonstration project if an ophthalmologist or 
optometrist, after a clinical evaluation, has deter-
mined and certifies through a prescription that fur-
nishing a low vision device to the individual is medi-
cally necessary. 
(2) NATIONAL
SCOPE
AND
DURATION.—The 
demonstration project shall be national in scope and 
shall be conducted for a period of 5 years. 
(3) PROJECT DESIGN.—The Secretary shall de-
sign the demonstration project in a manner so as to 
provide a rich, well-structured, and defined data set 
from which inferences about the fiscal impact on the 
Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust 
Fund under section 1841 of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395t) resulting from the permanent 
coverage under part B of title XVIII of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395j et seq.) of low vision 
devices (including coverage for subcategories or sub-
sets of such devices) can be made using appropriate 
statistical methods. To the maximum extent pos-
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sible, such demonstration project shall evaluate the 
fiscal impact of permanent coverage under such part 
for the most function-rich, most powerful, and most 
expensive low vision devices. 
(4) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the dem-
onstration project the Secretary shall consult with 
organizations of consumers with vision loss and 
other stakeholder organizations. 
(c) REPORTS.— 
(1) INTERIM
REPORT.—Not later than 180 
days after the last day of the third year of the dem-
onstration project, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Finance of the Senate and to the 
Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representatives a report 
that describes the progress and preliminary findings 
from the demonstration project. 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the last day of the demonstration project and 
after solicitation and consideration of formal written 
input on the project from organizations representing 
consumers with vision loss and other stakeholder or-
ganizations, the Secretary shall submit to such Com-
mittees a final report on the project. Such report 
shall include an evaluation of the fiscal impact on 
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the Medicare program under part B of title XVIII 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) 
of providing coverage of low vision devices (including 
coverage for subcategories or subsets of such de-
vices) and such other findings and recommendations 
as the Secretary deems appropriate. 
(d) FUNDING.—For fiscal year 2018 and for each of 
the four succeeding fiscal years, out of any funds in the 
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $2,500,000 is ap-
propriated to the Secretary to carry out the demonstration 
project. 
Æ 
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