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Advocacy Action Alert: Protect Access to Sight-Saving Glaucoma Care!

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Act today to help protect access to sight-saving glaucoma care for Medicare beneficiaries! 

Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allowed a decision to move forward on how micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) will be covered for individuals who have glaucoma. Prevent Blindness is concerned that this recent decision will seriously compromise sight-saving glaucoma care for patients.  You can act today to help protect access to sight-saving glaucoma care for Medicare beneficiaries! 

Glaucoma is a very serious, irreversible sight-threatening disease that affects more than 3 million Americans. For patients who live with glaucoma, access to innovative procedures such as MIGS can mean the difference between living a life with healthy vision or needless vision loss.

Prevent Blindness has put together a letter template with instructions for patients to use when reaching out to CMS. We encourage you to use the letter template to contact CMS and share your story with glaucoma to help protect access to sight-saving care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries.

Resources

To send a letter, follow these steps:

  1. Open or download the attached letter and instructions.
  2. Cut + copy + paste the letter into a new blank email from your email account of choice.
  3. Cut out the yellow highlighted section and replace with your own story and experience with glaucoma, or the experience of someone you know who would benefit from access to sight-saving glaucoma care.
  4. Sign (type or use an e-signature if you have one) your name onto the letter.
  5. Input the corresponding email address in the “To”: line. Please see the below contact information depending on your state of residence. Put the following email address in the “BCC” line: [email protected].
  6. In the Subject Line, write ‘LCD Reconsideration Request- Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery”.
  7. Send the email.

Email Addresses:

Please find your state of residence and send the letter to the corresponding email address. Advocates who live in the states listed below are specifically asked to consider sending the letter as the policy currently only may have an impact on beneficiaries in the below states. If your state is not listed, please stay tuned for future advocacy opportunities.

  • Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan – WPS Health Solutions, [email protected]
  • Ohio, Kentucky – CGS Administrators, [email protected]
  • Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island – NGS Medicare, [email protected]
  • California, Nevada, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota – Noridian Healthcare Solutions, [email protected]
  • Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia – Palmetto GBA, [email protected]