Government and Regulatory Affairs Update: Medicare Expansion

Dear Members,

Recent legislative events in Washington D.C. have the potential to provide tremendous benefits to the members of The Vision Council. Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that Democrats in the Senate have a reached a deal on a $3.5 trillion package to address “human infrastructure,” which they plan to pass via reconciliation. For more information, click here.

In his announcement, Senator Schumer touted that a key piece of the reconciliation package is a robust expansion of Medicare, adding more federal money for seniors to obtain vision, dental and hearing coverage.

The Vision Council is pleased with these developments and will be working with Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives to ensure that the language in the measure correctly reflects the priorities of the vision community.

We will continue to engage with Congressional leaders and the White House on this measure. As previously mentioned, our outreach includes but is not limited to: the offices of Senate Majority Leader Schumer; House Speaker Pelosi; Senator Sanders; Senator Gillibrand; Representative Schrier; Representative Slotkin; and Representative O’Hallaren. Additionally, outreach includes Senators and Members on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, House Energy Committee and Commerce Committee.

We are advocating strongly for Congress to pass a vision expansion to Medicare Part B. As we continue to engage with Congressional leaders on this important policy development, we will provide updates to the membership and, if needed, will mobilize a grassroots effort to reach Senators and Members to support expansion of Medicare Part B for vision.

I am thrilled to represent our membership in these important meetings and look forward to continued progress on this issue and more.

Sincerely,

Ashley Mills
CEO
The Vision Council