by KYW's John McDevitt

A federal appeals court has ruled that the United States discriminates against blind people by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish one denomination from another. The decision could force the Treasury Department to redesign its cash.  

Patty Lariccia, 54, is blind. She's a vision therapist for the Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired in center city Philadelphia.

She says the ruling  is long overdue and helps those who can't see become more independent:

"All paper money feels the same and it's all the same size, so it was a little bit of an improvement for visually impaired people when they reprinted money like the $20 bills -- the number '20' on there is bigger. However, for those of us who are totally blind there is no textural difference and no way to identify a five from a ten from a one."

Lariccia say she was ripped off once by a cab driver many years ago. She now has a system where a seeing  person must first tell her what bills are in her wallet -- she then folds them accordingly.