Preeminent Seniors Advocacy Group Endorses Grayson Bill to Expand Medicare

Statement

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) has endorsed Congressman Alan Grayson's (D-FL09) bill, the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act, which will expand Medicare's coverage to include exams, treatments, and medical devices for eyes, ears, and teeth, which are currently excluded. Congressman Grayson introduced the bill in the House of Representatives on July 29.

In an August 11 letter to the Congressman, Committee President and CEO Max Richtman wrote, "On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I am writing to endorse H.R. 3308, the "Seniors Have Eyes, Ears and Teeth Act.' It is our hope that action will be taken on your legislation during the current 114th Congress." The full text of the letter is available at the end of this release.

Congressman Grayson introduced the bill to celebrate the 50th anniversary of President Johnson's establishment of Medicare and Medicaid. The bill currently has 80 cosponsors.

"I'm grateful to have the support of NCPSSM for this bill," Congressman Grayson said. "This non-partisan organization has been advocating strengthening Social Security and Medicare, and for those who receive help from these two critical programs, for over 30 years. With the support of our cosponsors, and organizations like NCPSSM, I call on my Republican colleagues to bring this bill to the floor and allow us to vote on it."

In a late July speech on the House floor, Congressman Grayson said, "Thanks to Medicare, for 50 years now, our seniors have received the health care they've needed to stay healthy, and to live a full life. But despite this success, there are gaps in Medicare coverage that need to be closed. The most glaring gap is the fact that Medicare does not provide basic medical coverage for seniors' eyes, ears, and teeth. It's as though Medicare assumes that seniors don't need to see, or to hear, or to chew!

"We're not talking about exotic, high-tech treatments -- we're talking about no Medicare coverage for eyeglasses, eye exams, hearing aids, and cavity fillings and dentures. We're talking about no treatment for medical conditions that lead to blindness, deafness, lost teeth and serious gum disease, which has been strongly linked to heart disease. It is unthinkable that we deny our seniors this elementary level of care."

"Thank you for your leadership on this important issue," Mr. Richtman's letter concludes. "We look forward to working with you to secure enactment of the "Seniors Have Eyes, Ears and Teeth Act,' which would improve the Medicare program for today's seniors as well as future generations of beneficiaries."

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