A concerted effort to enact Public Policy change is essential to advance our industry and significantly enhance access to vital services for people with blindness and low vision.
Open access requires that funding be available for all individuals to access life-changing Vision Rehabilitation services. Our work in Policy and Funding is dedicated to accomplishing this crucial achievement.
Aging and Vision Loss Policy and Funding Focus Areas
Proposed Teddie-Joy’s Law
As a top priority, we are building bipartisan support for the introduction of Teddie-Joy’s Law to increase funding and services for older people across the US facing blindness and low vision. Support for this bill includes multiple federal agencies. See the Teddies-Joy’s law document in the resources below.
Medicare Reimbursement
We are focused on expanding Medicare reimbursement for vision rehabilitation services provided by non-medical vision rehabilitation professionals. We have launched Phase II of the Medicare Exploration Project to help do so. Learn more
Advocacy
We also advocate issues supported and advanced by our partner organizations. Calls to action are forwarded to our large group of organization partners to maximize engagement.
Policy and Funding Three-Year Goals
In partnership with national organizational partners, VisionServe will work to form strategic alliances/partnerships to advance aging and vision loss inclusion in federal legislation and other policy documents
Older adults with vision loss are included as a targeted population in aging policy, public health initiatives (i.e., Healthy People 2030), and health coverage
We will support the efforts of national consumer groups to increase the annual federal appropriation for OIB funds
We will continue to provide a forum for discussion and support for organizational partners pursuing funding for services for older people with vision loss at the state and local level
Through Teddie-Joy’s Law, we will pursue pilot projects and other innovative initiatives for new community-based vision rehabilitation programs in severely underserved parts of the nation and will be a forum for the promotion of promising practices and programs at the state level
We will pursue enactment of Teddie-Joy’s Law with the goal to have it introduced as quickly as possible
We will collaborate to pursue federal regulatory, sub-regulatory, and related federal agency avenues (including potentially tapping private insurers) to address Medicare funding of services
Consumer Advocacy – A cadre of older adults with vision loss are trained and mobilized to advocate for policy change, including adopting and implementing newly approved TJL elements
RecenAccomplishments
Teddie-Joy’s Law (TJL) was established as the intersection of various policy issues related to aging and vision loss, including the Older Americans Act and the Office of Aging and Vision Loss
Removed transportation and Medicare from TJL for separate pursuit
We need you. Talented leaders and volunteers are needed to advance our vital work. It’s an ideal opportunity to volunteer personally or nominate someone from your team as an essential professional development and visibility opportunity.
Volunteer to make a difference in the lives of people facing blindness and low vision. Contact Helen Chapman at HChapman@VisionServeAlliance.org to learn more.
“When consumers, professionals, administrators and other advocates band together with policymakers and public program implementers, we can truly change the world. That is why I am so committed to this work. Together, we all will achieve the imperatives embodied in Teddie-Joy’s Law, and we will end the monstrous inequity that America’s failure to honor our fathers and mothers represents. We can do this, if we have your help.
Mark Richert
“My passion is for the provision of equitable, accessible, and excellent services for older people with vision loss. I don’t think our field and our nation have done nearly enough. The good news is that we are working hard on this right now. Get involved. It will sustain you and without it, nothing else really matters.”
Pris Rogers
“With the population of seniors with vision loss growing exponentially, and current estimates indicating that only 3% of this population are receiving the services they need to remain living independently, the term “Crisis” is an understatement. In order to address this quality of service and inadequate funding crisis, it is imperative that the proposed Teddie-Joy’s Law be acted upon by Congress.”
