eye care/ va hosp/: President Bush Signs 13 Bills Into Law

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>

> White House - AP

> President Bush Signs 13 Bills Into Law

> Sat Dec 6, 4:58 PM ET

>

> WASHINGTON - President Bush

>

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> sites) signed 13 bills Saturday that included measures to allow wearers of

> contact lenses to shop for the best price and to give lawmakers a say over

> the closure of veterans hospitals.

>

> As a snowstorm hit Washington, Bush used a rare weekend at the White House

> to enact the new laws.

>

> Among them was legislation that requires eye doctors to give patients,

> without charge, their contact lens prescriptions. Without that

information,

> to which eyeglass wearers have been entitled since 1978, the nation's 36

> million contact lens wearers have been forced to buy lenses from the

> prescribing optometrists or ophthalmologists, often at higher prices than

> might be available elsewhere.

>

> The legislation also allows lens providers to fill a prescription even if

> the doctor fails to call back within eight hours to verify it.

>

> Supporters said the bill could save users an average of 20 percent.

>

> As part of another bill, which authorized construction of veterans'

> facilities, Congress gave itself 60 days to review any decision by the

> Veterans Affairs secretary to close VA hospitals.

>

> The Department of Veterans Affairs

>

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> sites) proposed a plan in August to close seven aging or underused

> hospitals and open new facilities to shift services closer to where more

> veterans live. A 15-member panel studying the proposals is expected to

make

> recommendations this month.

>

> Lawmakers want to protect hospitals in their areas, however, even though a

> congressional audit found the VA was wasting millions of dollars by

keeping

> open unneeded and largely vacant facilities in areas where the populations

> of veterans are dwindling.

>

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