[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 507 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 507
To establish a grant program to provide vision care to children, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 17, 2007
Mr. Gene Green of Texas (for himself, Mr. Fossella, Mr. Engel, Mr.
Sullivan, Mr. Pascrell, and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant program to provide vision care to children, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Vision Care for Kids Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Millions of children in the United States suffer from
vision problems, many of which go undetected. Because children
with vision problems can struggle developmentally, resulting in
physical, emotional, and social consequences, good vision is
essential for proper physical development and educational
progress.
(2) Vision problems in children range from common
conditions such as refractive errors, amblyopia, strabismus,
ocular trauma, and infections, to rare but potentially life- or
sight-threatening problems such as retinoblastoma, infantile
cataracts, congenital glaucoma, and genetic or metabolic
diseases of the eye.
(3) Since many serious ocular conditions are treatable if
identified in the preschool and early school-aged years, early
detection provides the best opportunity for effective treatment
and can have far-reaching implications for vision.
(4) Various identification methods, including vision
screening and comprehensive eye examinations required by State
laws, can be helpful in identifying children needing services.
A child identified as needing services through vision screening
should receive a comprehensive eye examination followed by
subsequent treatment as needed. Any child identified as needing
services should have access to subsequent treatment as needed.
(5) There is a need to increase public awareness about the
prevalence and devastating consequences of vision disorders in
children and to educate the public and health care providers
about the warning signs and symptoms of ocular and vision
disorders and the benefits of early detection, evaluation, and
treatment.
SEC. 3. GRANTS REGARDING VISION CARE FOR CHILDREN.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary''), acting through the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may award
grants to States on the basis of an established review process for the
purpose of complementing existing State efforts for--
(1) providing comprehensive eye examinations by a licensed
optometrist or ophthalmologist for children who have been
previously identified through a vision screening or eye
examination by a licensed health care provider or vision
screener as needing such services, with priority given to
children who are under the age of 9 years;
(2) providing treatment or services, subsequent to the
examinations described in paragraph (1), necessary to correct
vision problems; and
(3) developing and disseminating, to parents, teachers, and
health care practitioners, educational materials on recognizing
signs of visual impairment in children.
(b) Criteria and Coordination.--
(1) Criteria.--The Secretary, in consultation with
appropriate professional and consumer organizations including
individuals with knowledge of age appropriate vision services,
shall develop criteria--
(A) governing the operation of the grant program
under subsection (a); and
(B) for the collection of data related to vision
assessment and the utilization of follow up services.
(2) Coordination.--The Secretary shall, as appropriate,
coordinate the program under subsection (a) with the program
under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (relating to
health centers) (42 U.S.C. 254b), the program under title XIX
of the Social Security Act (relating to the Medicaid program)
(42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), the program under title XXI of such
Act (relating to the State children's health insurance program)
(42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), and with other Federal or State
programs that provide services to children.
(c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Secretary an application in
such form, made in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require, including--
(1) information on existing Federal, Federal-State, or
State-funded children's vision programs;
(2) a plan for the use of grant funds, including how funds
will be used to complement existing State efforts (including
possible partnerships with non-profit entities);
(3) a plan to determine if a grant eligible child has been
identified as provided for in subsection (a); and
(4) a description of how funds will be used to provide
items or services, only as a secondary payer--
(A) for an eligible child, to the extent that the
child is not covered for the items or services under
any State compensation program, under an insurance
policy, or under any Federal or State health benefits
program; or
(B) for an eligible child, to the extent that the
child receives the items or services from an entity
that provides health services on a prepaid basis.
(d) Evaluations.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), a State shall agree that, not later than 1 year after
the date on which amounts under the grant are first received by the
State, and annually thereafter while receiving amounts under the grant,
the State will submit to the Secretary an evaluation of the operations
and activities carried out under the grant, including--
(1) an assessment of the utilization of vision services and
the status of children receiving these services as a result of
the activities carried out under the grant;
(2) the collection, analysis, and reporting of children's
vision data according to guidelines prescribed by the
Secretary; and
(3) such other information as the Secretary may require.
(e) Limitations in Expenditure of Grant.--A grant may be made under
subsection (a) only if the State involved agrees that the State will
not expend more than 20 percent of the amount received under the grant
to carry out the purpose described in paragraph (3) of such subsection.
(f) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
``comprehensive eye examination'' includes an assessment of a patient's
history, general medical observation, external and ophthalmoscopic
examination, visual acuity, ocular alignment and motility, refraction,
and as appropriate, binocular vision or gross visual fields, performed
by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as
may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
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