Vision Rehabilitation Services Reimbursable Through Medicare
Lighthouse International is part of a new national project for patients with low vision, offering vision rehabilitation services newly reimbursable through Medicare.
These services are part of a national demonstration project that provides Medicare reimbursement for services provided by specialized vision rehabilitation professionals -- certified vision rehabilitation therapists, certified orientation and mobility specialists, and certified low vision therapists, as well as occupational therapists -- on site at Lighthouse International or in a person's home. Among the services now covered: instruction on how to use prescribed optical devices or magnification systems, learning safe new ways to cook, manage medications, cross the street, navigate stairs and curbs, travel, and many other activities of daily living.
As part of its authorization of the demonstration project, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will study the impact of Medicare coverage for vision rehabilitation services by these specially trained professionals, which can cost between $500 and $1,000. The project, which runs for five years, through March 2011, is taking place in six locations across the country: New York City (5 boroughs), New Hampshire, North Carolina, Kansas, Washington State and Atlanta, Georgia.
Who is eligible? Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of moderate to severe vision impairment that cannot be corrected with conventional spectacle lenses, contact lenses, medication or surgery, even if they are not legally blind.
To receive Lighthouse services, patients must live within the five boroughs of New York City, and be referred by an optometrist or ophthalmologist who practices within the five boroughs. Each patient is eligible to receive up to nine hours of rehabilitation services over a period of nine years even if he or she has received some rehabilitation training services in the past. Patients will be responsible for the usual Medicare co-payment.
To learn how to take advantage of this new coverage, call Lighthouse International at 212 821-9200.