Prevent Blindness advocates for essential health benefits, children’s vision

Prevent Blindness is committed to protecting the children’s vision benefits included in the Affordable Care Act as well as the critical services provided through Medicaid, the group announced in a press release.

“Each Congressional attempt at health care reform seeks to end Medicaid expansion and implement a ‘per capita cap’ federal formula that would limit states’ abilities to provide benefits and services to certain vulnerable populations, especially adults with chronic diseases and aging Americans,” according to a statement from Prevent Blindness on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) debate in the U.S. Senate.

Additionally, House and Senate legislation both include a provision that would allow for states to waive the requirement that insurance companies provide “essential health benefits” on plans within their states, Prevent Blindness said.

Under the ACA, essential health benefits provide for children’s vision benefits, which include screenings and eye examinations and services that help patients manage their chronic diseases, particularly those from which vision loss is a complication or comorbidity.

Prevent Blindness said it works to bring Americans to eye care through education, preventive services and by increasing access to care. The group consistently advocates for policies that ensure Americans have access to the vision and eye health services they need.

Prevent Blindness supports policies that improve health systems, rather than undermine them or reduce access to opportunities for early detection and treatment of eye diseases for children or older Americans with pre-existing conditions and chronic illness.

“As the Senate debates, Prevent Blindness will continue to oppose any attempts to remove children’s vision benefits as provided under the ACA’s essential health benefits protection or any efforts that deteriorate the Medicaid program by eliminating expansion or implementing federal spending policies that weaken program eligibility or eliminate critical services,” according to the statement.