With January designated as National Glaucoma Awareness Month, we ask you to join CMS in promoting increased awareness of glaucoma and the glaucoma screening service covered by Medicare. Today, more than 2.2 million Americans age 40 and older have open angle glaucoma, the most common form of glaucoma, and at least half don't even know they have it. Through early detection and treatment, we can help prevent blindness.
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 Medicare's coverage of glaucoma screening includes a dilated eye examination with an intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement and a direct ophthalmoscopy examination or a slit-lamp biomicroscopic examination. What Can You Do? As a healthcare professional who provides care to seniors and others with Medicare, you can help protect the vision of your patients who may be at high-risk for glaucoma by educating them about their risk factors and reminding them of the importance of getting an annual glaucoma screening exam covered by Medicare. For More Information: § The CMS Glaucoma Screening Brochure<http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/glaucoma.pdf> § The CMS Guide to Medicare Preventive Services<http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/mps_guide_web-061305.pdf> (see Chapter 7) § The MLN Preventive Services Educational Products Webpage<http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp> § The National Eye Institute<http://www.nei.nih.gov/> Thank you for joining CMS in promoting increased awareness of glaucoma and the glaucoma screening benefit covered by Medicare. ________________________________ Flu Season is Here! While seasonal flu outbreaks can happen as early as October, flu activity usually peaks in January. Remind your patients that annual vaccination is recommended for optimal protection. Medicare pays for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for seniors and others with Medicare with no co-pay or deductible. Healthcare workers, who may spread the flu to high risk patients, should get vaccinated too. Don't forget to immunize yourself and your staff. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get the Flu Vaccine-Not the Flu. Remember - The flu vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. CMS has posted the 2011-2012 seasonal flu vaccine payment limits at http://www.CMS.gov/McrPartBDrugAvgSalesPrice/10_VaccinesPricing.asp. Note that the flu vaccine is NOT a Part D-covered drug. For more information on coverage and billing of the flu vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational provider resources, visit http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp and http://www.cms.gov/immunizations. ________________________________ 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.
