209.040. Vision test required, standard of vision--amount of payments, effect of insufficient appropriations--medical assistance--increase in appropriations, limitations. - Missouri Statutes

Vision test required, standard of vision--amount of payments, effectof insufficient appropriations--medical assistance--increase inappropriations, limitations.

209.040. 1. No person shall be entitled to a pension undersections 209.010 to 209.160 who does not have vision with orwithout properly adjusted glasses, up to but not including fivetwo-hundredths, or whose best visual field is five degrees astested with five millimeter target on perimeter. No person shallbe entitled to receive a pension except upon a scientific visiontest supported by a certificate of an ophthalmologist, aphysician skilled in disease of the eye, or an optometrist,designated or approved by the department of social services tomake such examination. To continue to be eligible to receive apension under the provisions of this section, a person shallpresent to the department of social services every fifth yearafter the initial vision test a new certificate of anophthalmologist, a physician skilled in disease of the eye, or anoptometrist, designated or approved by the department to make ascientific vision test that such person continues to meet therequirements of this section. Every person passing the visiontest and having the other qualifications provided in sections209.010 to 209.160 shall be entitled to receive a monthly pensionin an amount established by appropriations made by the generalassembly for that purpose but not less than three hundred fortydollars; except that pensions to the blind as provided hereinshall not be payable to a blind person unless such person hasbeen declared ineligible to receive aid under the federalsupplemental security income program, nor shall pensions to theblind as provided herein be payable to any person who isreceiving general relief assistance.

2. If the funds at the disposal of or which may be obtainedby the department of social services for the payment of benefitsunder this section shall at any time become insufficient to paythe full amount of benefits to each person entitled thereto, theamount of benefits of each one of such persons shall be reducedpro rata in proportion to such deficiency in the total amountavailable or to become available for such purpose.

3. Medical assistance for blind recipients eligible forsuch assistance under the provisions of sections 208.151 to208.158, RSMo, shall be payable as provided in sections 208.151to 208.158, RSMo, without regard to any durational residencerequirement for eligibility out of funds designated for suchmedical assistance and not from the blind pension fund.

4. The monthly pension provided in subsection 1 of thissection shall be increased by the general assembly by anappropriation bill by a monthly pension amount which equalsone-twelfth of the quotient obtained by dividing seventy-fivepercent of the annual growth of funds in the blind pension fundfor the preceding fiscal year by the number of persons eligibleto receive the monthly pension provided in subsection 1 of thissection.

(RSMo 1939 § 9452, A.L. 1945 p. 1351, A.L. 1945 p. 1366, A.L. 1947 V. I p. 421, A.L. 1947 V. II p. 326, A.L. 1949 p. 522, A.L. 1951 p. 762, A.L. 1953 p. 634, A.L. 1955 p. 696, A.L. 1959 H.B. 3, A.L. 1961 p. 534, A.L. 1963 pp. 384, 385, A.L. 1965 p. 356, A.L. 1967 p. 328, A.L. 1969 p. 346, A.L. 1971 H.B. 286, A.L. 1973 H.B. 156, S.B. 325, A.L. 1973 1st Ex. Sess. S.B. 4, A.L. 1975 S.B. 210, A.L. 1976 S.B. 641, A.L. 1978 H.B. 881, A.L. 1980 H.B. 1613, A.L. 1981 H.B. 360, A.L. 1982 H.B. 1086, A.L. 1983 H.B. 488, A.L. 1984 H.B. 1370, A.L. 1986 H.B. 996, A.L. 1991 H.B. 213)

Effective 7-1-92