Prevent Blindness proudly stands alongside our colleagues across the health spectrum to promote policies that improve our national health and well-being. Many groups have mutual policy goals in areas that often overlap with vision and eye health; for example, ensuring patients can access safe and effective drugs, increasing the budget on federal public health and medical research programs, or improving the health of our nation’s seniors through strong community networks. In advocacy, there is strength in numbers, and our strong coalition partnerships help us achieve policy goals that would be too difficult to take on as a singular effort. For more information on issues which Prevent Blindness leads, please visit our Advocacy Initiatives page.
Access to Vision and Eye Care
Essential Health Benefits
Children’s Health Group stakeholder issues recommendations on pediatric essential health benefits
Medicare and Medicaid
Families USA letter urges HHS Secretary Becerra to protect Americans from harms of Medicaid unwinding policy
Families USA letter to Congress urging against Medicaid cuts in debt limit negotiations
Step Therapy Coalition urges CMS to disallow step therapy protocols for Part B drugs in Medicare Advantage
Public Health
Prevent Blindness has endorsed legislation to make the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) permanent
Prevent Blindness supports passage of the PASTEUR Act
Children’s Budget Coalition Letter urging Secretary Becerra to create an interagency council on children’s health
March of Dimes stakeholder letter includes Prevent Blindness in support of reauthorizing the PREEMIE Act
Appropriations and Budget
Prevent Blindness supports appropriations for Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment program in FY 2024
NDD United Coalition letter including 761 stakeholders urging against cuts in non-defense discretionary program spending
Trust for America’s Health letters supporting social determinants of health funding for the CDC in FY2024
Trust for America’s Health stakeholder letter encouraging $130.42 million for nutrition, physical activity, and nutrition programs at the CDC in FY2024
Prevent Blindness joins coalition of stakeholders to encourage investments to Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies
Friends of Maternal and Child Health coalition letter requesting $1 billion appropriated for HRSA’s MCHB in FY2024
Prevent Blindness joins stakeholder efforts to invest in data modernization and infrastructure at the CDC in FY2024
Prevent Blindness joins chronic disease advocates to urge funding for chronic disease prevention and health promotion efforts
Friends of HRSA Coalition letter to Congress requesting $10.5 billion for HRSA in FY2024
CDC Coalition urges $11.581 billion in top-line funding for the CDC in FY2024
Friends of National Center for Health Statistics recommends $215 million for CDC’s NCHS in FY 2024
Budget and Appropriations
- Children’s Budget Coalition sign-on letter urging priority for children’s programs in FY2023
- Trust for America’s Health sign-on letter recommending $102.5 million for CDC’s REACH program in FY2023
- Prevent Blindness joins coalition letter supporting $30 million for Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment in FY2023
- Prevent Blindness joins efforts to call for $250 million in funding for CDC data modernization
- Friends of Title V coalition urges funding level of $1 billion in FY2023 for Title V Maternal and Child Health Services at MCHB-HRSA
- Friends of HRSA requests $9.8 billion for HRSA in FY2023
- CDC Coalition requests $11 billion for CDC in FY2023 Labor-HHS-Ed. Appropriations bill
- Prevent Blindness joins chronic disease patient groups to urge $3.75 billion in FY2023 to CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Coverage and Access
- Prevent Blindness joins 79 organizations to reinstate prohibition in Medicare Advantage plans on Part B drugs
- Families USA letter to CMS Administrator Brooks-LaSure regarding continued Medicaid coverage following end of COVID-19 public health emergency
- I Am Essential Coalition Letter to Annual Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2023
Public Health Policy
Health Equity
Budget and Appropriations
- Prevent Blindness supports Biden Administration FY2022 budget request to address social determinants of health
- Prevent Blindness joins 190 organizations in support of funding for CDC’s REACH program in FY2022
- Friends of NCHS coalition support letter for $200 million to CDC’s National Centers for Health Statistics in FY2022
- Friends of Title V coalition supports $750 million to Maternal and Child Health programs at HRSA
- Chronic disease groups request $3.75 billion in FY2022 to CDC’s chronic disease prevention and health promotion
- National Council on Aging requests $10 million for falls prevention and $4 million for falls prevention research
- Friends of HRSA requests $9.2 billion for HRSA in FY2022
- Prevent Blindness endorses funding the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program
- CDC Coalition requests $10 billion to CDC in FY2022 appropriations
Coverage and Access
- 60+ organizations send letter to protect Orphan Drug Tax Credit for people living with autoimmune disease
- Prevent Blindness joins 156 organizations endorsing the DIVERSE Trials Act
- ITEM Coalition provides comment on proposed repeal of the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT)
- PAN Foundation letter supporting HR 5801, the Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act
- 500+ organizations call on Congress to make the Children’s Health Insurance Program permanent
- ITEM Coalition urges Congress to expand Medicare to include low vision aids and assistive devices in reconciliation package
- Prevent Blindness joins letter to HHS Secretary Becerra urging rescinding of step therapy for Part B drugs in Medicare Advantage
- Prevent Blindness endorses H.R. 1025, the Kids Access to Primary Care Act
- Letter to CMS requesting update to School-Based Medicaid Guidance
- ITEM Coalition comments on proposed Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) rule, urging coverage of low vision aids and devices
Public Health Policy
Budget and Appropriations
- Letter to House and Senate supporting $100 million to CDC’s “Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies” program
- Prevent Blindness endorses NCOA efforts to secure $14 million in FY2021 for falls prevention efforts, as recommended by Senate Aging Committee
- Friends of Title V organization letter to Congress requesting $715 million to maternal and child health programs in FY2021
- Prevent Blindness joins 109 organizations to support $8.8 billion funding level for HRSA in FY2021
- Prevent Blindness joins 158 organizations supporting $8.3 billion program-level funding for the CDC in FY2021
Coverage and Access
- ASP Coalition letter to Congress opposing Most Favored Nation Model
- Prevent Blindness endorses legislation to improve access to maternal health
- National Head Start letter urges Congress to direct $1.7 billion to Head Start to ensure children receive basic care during COVID-19 pandemic
- ASP Coalition letter to HHS Secretary Azar urging removal of step therapy and prior authorization policies on Part B drugs under Medicare Advantage plans
- ITEM Coalition urges CMS Administrator Verma to include a Request for Information for Coverage for Low Vision Devices in upcoming proposed rule
Public Health Policy
- Children’s Budget Coalition urges COVID-19 relief legislation to consider missed health screenings, including vision
- Prevent Blindness joins 350 organizations endorsing establishment of a White House Office on Children and Youth
- Prevent Blindness joins public health community to advocate for $4.5 billion investment in additional annual funding for public health data infrastructure
- Prevent Blindness endorses legislation to establish a Healthy Aging program and national COVID-19 resource center for older adults at the CDC
- Public health community recommends $4.5 billion to modernize public health data infrastructure
- Prevent Blindness joins over 200 organizations calling on the Administration to provide PPE, including protective eyewear, to front line responders during COVID-19 pandemic
- Prevent Blindness joins 127 organizations to urge reauthorization of the Older Americans Act of 2020
Health Equity and Accessibility
- 89 organizations advocate for H.R. 6561, the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act to be included in COVID-19 legislation
- Prevent Blindness endorses H.R. 6561, the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020
- Prevent Blindness joins American Council of the Blind coalition letter to urge Congress to protect voting rights for Americans with disabilities
Budget and Appropriations
- Prevent Blindness supports $10 million in FY2020 for CDC’s Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies program
- Letter to Senate Appropriators requesting $76.95 million in FY2020 to the CDC’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program
- Friends of HRSA Coalition requests $8.56 billion to the Health Resources and Services Administration in FY2020
- Friends of the National Center for Health Statistics FY2020 request for $175 million
- Friends of Title V Requests $698 million for Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant
- Friends of HRSA Coalition requests $8.56 billion to the Health Resources and Services Administration in FY2020
- CDC Coalition letter requesting FY2020 CDC program level of $7.8 billion
Coverage and Access
- Prevent Blindness endorses H.R. 3107, the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act
- I Am Essential Coalition letter regarding HHS proposals to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act
- Vision organizations, including Prevent Blindness, oppose Administration’s proposed 25% tariffs on optical products imported from China
Public Health Policy
- Prevent Blindness endorses H.R. 4334, the Dignity in Aging Act, and encourages swift reauthorization of the Older Americans Act
- Prevent Blindness joins 32 organizations to endorse reauthorization of the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2019
- Prevent Blindness joins 180 organizations to endorse the Public Health Funding Restoration Act, which would replenish the Prevention and Public Health Fund
- Prevent Blindness endorses the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America (LIFT America Act)
- Prevent Blindness joins School-Based Health Alliance to endorse reauthorization of the School-Based Health Centers program
- Prevent Blindness and Vision 2020 USA call on Surgeon General Adams to issue a ‘Call to Action’ on vision