Really! This is somehow still an issue?
The National Federation of the Blind and three individuals sued the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in federal court February 10, calling on the agency to make its documentation, including key materials relating to benefit changes and denials, accessible to people with visual disabilities.
As detailed in the complaint, most CMS notices are provided only in standard-print formats. Most of these documents are unavailable in accessible formats, such as in Braille, large print or an audio recording, or compatible with screen-access software.
The CMS’ official guidance to contractors allegedly provides “no information” on making notices accessible, nor does it provide much guidance to beneficiaries. Moreover, the CMS’ hotline often makes it difficult to leave messages and is otherwise confusing, the lawsuit alleges, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
“Receiving (Medicare Summary Notices) in inaccessible formats thus compromises blind beneficiaries’ ability to independently and privately verify their co-payment obligations, address billing discrepancies and denials of service, or to dispute billing decisions through appeals, as can their sighted peers,” the lawsuit states. “As a result, failure by CMS to communicate in accessible formats ensures that…NFB members must sacrifice their privacy and independence to participate as Medicare recipients and puts them at risk of financial liabilities or penalties if a particular service or necessary medical equipment has not been covered by Medicare, or of exceeding Medicare service limits such as hospitalization days.”
The filing follows an investigation by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, which is assisting the NFB in the lawsuit.