John receives the 2004 “Visionary
Award” for his outstanding efforts toward the advancement
and availability of quality eye care from the American Academy
of Ophthalmology in April 2004. |
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“The Medicare Vision Rehabilitation
Services Act”
John is committed to helping visually impaired seniors
in New Hampshire and across the country live safer and more independent
lives. This dedication to the more than 6.6 million seniors with
some degree of vision impairment has resulted in a five-year vision
rehabilitation services demonstration project approved by the United
States Senate and underway in New Hampshire and five other locations
across the country.
Modeled after the “Medicare Vision Rehabilitation
Services Act of 2003,” which he introduced on May 21, 2003, the
initiative takes steps toward standardizing national coverage under
Medicare for vision rehabilitation services provided in the home
by physicians, vision rehabilitation professionals, and occupational
therapists.
The low-vision rehabilitation services demonstration
program began on April 1, 2006, and will run through March 31, 2011;
it consists of six demonstration sites – New Hampshire, North Carolina,
Kansas, Washington state, New York City, and Atlanta. At these locations,
low-vision rehabilitation services will be provided in the home
by vision rehabilitation professionals under the supervision of
a physician. At the conclusion of the demonstration, the Department
of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services will produce a report based on the data collected during
the study to determine whether low-vision rehabilitation services
should be covered nationwide for all Medicare recipients across
the country.
John’s initiative has been recognized by Lighthouse
International and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and has
been endorsed by several organizations for the blind and visually
impaired including: New Hampshire Association for the Blind; New
England College of Optometry; New England Eye Institute; American
Optometric Association; American Council for the Blind; The Glaucoma
Foundation; National Council on Aging; and
National Vision Rehabilitation Cooperative.
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