The month of January has been designated as National Glaucoma Awareness Month. As we approach the end of this month, we ask you to please join with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in promoting increased awareness of glaucoma and the glaucoma screening service covered by Medicare. Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness in the U.S. and affects nearly 4 million Americans, half of whom do not even know that they have this disease. Through early detection and treatment, we can prevent blindness.
What Can You Do? As a health care professional who provides care to seniors, as well as Medicare patients, you can help protect the vision of your patients who may be at high risk for glaucoma. Please educate them about their risk factors and remind them of the importance of getting an annual glaucoma screening exam covered by Medicare. Medicare Coverage: Medicare provides coverage of an annual glaucoma screening for beneficiaries in at least one of the following high risk groups: § Individuals with diabetes mellitus § Individuals with a family history of glaucoma § African-Americans age 50 and older § Hispanic-Americans age 65 and older A Medicare-covered glaucoma screening includes: § A dilated eye examination with an intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement § A direct ophthalmoscopy examination or a slit-lamp biomicroscopic examination For More Information: § Glaucoma Screening Brochure - This Medicare Learning Network® (MLN) brochure provides Medicare Fee-For-Service providers with an overview of the Medicare-covered glaucoma screening service. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/glaucoma.pdf § Glaucoma Screening Web Page - This CMS web page provides an overview of the glaucoma screening service covered by Medicare as well as information on educational resources for health care providers. http://www.cms.gov/GlaucomaScreening/01_Overview.asp<http://www.cms.gov/GlaucomaScreening/01_Overview.asp#TopOfPage> § The MLN Preventive Services Educational Products Web Page - This web page provides a list of MLN educational products related to Medicare-covered preventive services. These resources are specifically for Medicare Fee-For-Service providers and their staff. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp For more information about National Glaucoma Awareness Month, please visit http://preventblindness.org/news/observe.html. Thank you for joining CMS in promoting increased awareness of glaucoma and the glaucoma screening benefit covered by Medicare. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January Flu Shot Reminder Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu. Don't forget to immunize yourself and your staff. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. While seasonal flu outbreaks can happen as early as October, flu activity usually peaks in January. This year's vaccine will protect against three different flu viruses, including the H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last flu season. The risks for complications, hospitalizations and deaths from the flu are higher among individuals aged 65 years and older. Medicare pays for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for seniors and others with Medicare with no co-pay or deductible. Health care workers, who may spread the flu to high risk patients, should get vaccinated too. Remember - Influenza vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. Note that influenza vaccine is NOT a Part D covered drug. For information about Medicare's coverage of the influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care staff, please visit http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/Flu_Products.pdf and http://www.cms.gov/AdultImmunizations on the CMS website. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you.
