Federal Employment Dental and Vision Benefits Enhancement Act of 2004
FEDERAL EMPLOYEE DENTAL AND VISION BENEFITS ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - December 06, 2004)
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2657) to amend part III of title 5, United States Code, to provide for the establishment of programs under which supplemental dental and vision benefits are made available to Federal employees, retirees, and their dependents, to expand the contracting authority of the Office of Personnel Management, and for other purposes.
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Tom Davis) in consideration of S. 2657, the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Benefits Enhancement Act of 2004.
Visual health and oral health are integral to our general health. Eye and oral diseases are progressive and become more complex over time. Our ability to eat, see, read, learn, and communicate all depends on good visual and oral health.
Periodic eye and dental examinations are an important part of routine preventive health care. Many visual and oral conditions present no obvious symptoms. Therefore, individuals are often unaware that problems exist.
There are safe and effective measures to prevent the most common eye and dental diseases, and that is why early diagnosis and treatment are important for maintaining good visual and oral health, and why a vision and dental benefit should be made available to Federal employees and annuitants.
We know that in 1987, the Office of Personnel Management stopped plans in the Federal health benefits program from adding new visual and dental packages. OPM did so for various reasons. However, that decision was made over 15 years ago, and it is time to take a fresh look at how we can meet the visual and oral health needs of Federal employees.
In the long run, preventive care through periodic examinations and doctor visits will help keep down long-term visual and dental costs due to early detection.
I am happy to support S. 2657 because it permits OPM to contract with qualified companies to offer dental and vision benefits to Federal employees and retirees under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.
Unfortunately, however, this bill does not include a provision that would require OPM to study the feasibility of providing hearing benefits to Federal benefits and retirees. Currently, over 28 million Americans suffer hearing loss, half of whom are under the age of 50. Hearing loss is not just a problem affecting adults. Thirty-three children are born every day with some form of hearing loss. With early detection and treatment, these children can be taught in regular classes, saving the school system as much as $500,000 during a 12-year education.
I included similar language in H.R. 3751, which passed the House in June. Like vision and dental benefits, most insurance plans do not provide hearing benefits, such as coverage for hearing aids.
To address this omission, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) and I, along with the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman TOM DAVIS) and the Senate sponsors of this bill, sent a letter to the Director of the office of OPM requesting that the agency assess current hearing benefits available to FEHBP participants and explore the feasibility of expanding hearing benefits to enrollees and their dependents.
Director James has already replied that such a study will be conducted and completed by September 30, 2005. I am pleased that we have received this commitment from OPM and look forward to reviewing the finished report.
I would urge my colleagues to support passage of Senate bill 2657.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran).
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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