Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment under the supplementary medical insurance program for one comprehensive physical examination a year, dental care including dentures, eye examinations including eyeglasses, hearing aids including examination, and treatment of foot conditions.
Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to take steps to eliminate unnecessary or excessive medical appliance expenditures under the Medicare program by implementing appliance leasing, auditing of medical appliance manufacturers and providers, and by cross-referencing prevailing medical appliance rates. Includes under the term "medical appliance" hearing aids, eyeglasses, dentures, and similar health aids.
States that the Federal Trade Commission should continue and increase scrutiny of the medical appliance industries in the interest of consumer protection.
States that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare should provide increased assistance to encourage the continuing education and training of hearing specialists, clinical audiologists, and physicians to improve the quality of hearing care, and to encourage the provision by State and local governments of more and better hearing care for the elderly, including a network of examination and treatment sites.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line