[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3685 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3685

  To establish a grant program to provide vision care to children, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 19, 2006

   Mr. Bond introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Good vision is essential for proper physical 
        development and educational progress in growing children.
            (2) Many serious ocular conditions are treatable if 
        identified in the preschool and early school-aged years.
            (3) Early detection of ocular conditions provides the best 
        opportunity for effective, inexpensive treatment and can have 
        far-reaching implications for vision.
            (4) Various identification methods, whether vision 
        screening or comprehensive eye exams required by State laws, 
        will identify children needing services. A child identified 
        through vision screening should receive a comprehensive eye 
        exam followed by subsequent treatment as needed. A child 
        identified through a comprehensive eye exam should receive 
        subsequent treatment as needed. All children identified as 
        needing services should have access to subsequent treatment as 
        needed.

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 section 3(a); and
            (4) a description of how funds will be used to provide 
        items or services only as a secondary payer to--
                    (A) any State compensation program, under an 
                insurance policy, or under any Federal or State health 
                benefits program; or
                    (B) by any 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 2006 through 2010.
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