Title: To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct an evaluation on the extent to which the Medicare and Medicaid programs provide reasonable accommodations to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report to Congress on the extent to which reasonable accommodations, as required under federal law, are provided under the Medicare and Medicaid programs to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3457 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3457

 To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct an 
 evaluation on the extent to which the Medicare and Medicaid programs 
   provide reasonable accommodations to individuals who are blind or 
                           visually impaired.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2017

  Mr. Bilirakis (for himself and Ms. Eshoo) 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 require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct an 
 evaluation on the extent to which the Medicare and Medicaid programs 
   provide reasonable accommodations to individuals who are blind or 
                           visually impaired.

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

SECTION 1. GAO STUDY ON MEDICARE AND MEDICAID PROGRAMS.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an 
evaluation, and submit to Congress a report, on the extent to which 
reasonable accommodations, as required under Federal law, are provided 
under the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act 
and the Medicaid program under title XIX of such Act to individuals who 
are blind or visually impaired. Such evaluation and report shall 
include information on--
            (1) an estimate of the number of Medicare beneficiaries and 
        the number of Medicaid enrollees who are blind or visually 
        impaired or would self-identify as such using available data, 
        such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National 
        Health Interview Survey or Medicare/Medicaid ICD codes or 
        Census data or other data sources;
            (2) how the Medicare and Medicaid programs inform blind or 
        visually impaired individuals that information can be available 
        in other formats;
            (3) the number of complaints submitted to the Centers for 
        Medicare & Medicaid Services or State Medicaid agencies 
        claiming materials are not being provided in an accessible 
        format and whether such a failure to provide such materials in 
        such a format resulted in--
                    (A) an interruption in coverage or denial in care; 
                or
                    (B) the failure to appeal such a denial before the 
                specified deadline (and the number of times such a 
                deadline had been extended);
            (4) how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and 
        State Medicaid agencies identify Medicare beneficiaries and 
        Medicaid beneficiaries who are blind or visually impaired or 
        who self-identify as such; and
            (5) the accommodations that the Medicare and Medicaid 
        programs make to ensure communications, including written 
        materials, are accessible for the blind, visually impaired, or 
        individuals who self-identify as such, and how individuals are 
        informed of these options.
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