Prevent Blindness is an active participant in numerous coalitions and working groups that collectively work together to achieve various outcomes to legislation and other matters of public policy. Below are a few examples of our recent work on behalf of patients with vision loss, eye disease, and blindness.

• Prevent Blindness has endorsed a provision of H.R. 485, the Protecting Healthcare for All Patients Act, which would prohibit use of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) in all federal health care programs, including Medicaid. However, Prevent Blindness joined our public health colleagues, including the Trust for America’s Health, to oppose the provisions of the legislation that would use the Prevention and Public Health Fund to pay for the bill’s provisions.
• The National Health Council has an explainer on QALYs from November 2023.
• Read Trust for America’s Health letter here.
• Prevent Blindness government affairs staff attends the Vision Health Advocacy Coalition annual meeting in Washington, DC.
• Prevent Blindness responds to a request for information from the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee at the Department of Health and Human Services on conditions that typically co-occur with autism.
• Prevent Blindness joins the Save Rare Treatments Task Force to protect access to innovative treatments for rare eye disease patients.
• Prevent Blindness joins 1,098 organizations to urge Congress against passing a full-year Continuing Resolution on Fiscal Year 2024 spending and finalize appropriations as soon as possible. 

Prevent Blindness is looking for parent advocates who are willing to share their story about their child’s journey to vision and eye care. This is a great opportunity for your story to be heard and to make a difference in the lives of parents, families, and children who face barriers to accessing vision and eye care. If you are also an adult but have a story to share about your personal journey with accessing vision and eye care, we welcome your story!

If you are interested, here’s how you can help:

• Please visit the Prevent Blindness advocacy website to share your story.
• You may also reach out to advocacy@preventblindness.org to share your story or if you would like to know more.
• Please let us know if you would prefer to keep your story and information anonymous. 

Melanie Bush is an Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialist in Montana, and a member of the ASPECT cohort 7.

"It is a blessing to work with people who experience vision loss," she proudly states. With 25 years of service in this field, Melanie teaches her clients how to use their cane for mobility purposes, equipping them to travel safely, efficiently and purposefully. Her proudest achievements were supporting a 2-year-old and a 92-year-old successful clients. Her ability to provide intergenerational care is a noble skill.

Support the Sight-Saving Work of Prevent Blindness

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