[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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