Advocacy News

Congress has passed a partial government funding bill March 8 that includes policies to address cuts to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) that went into effect on Jan. 1.   

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has signed House Bill 1099, legislature that will expand optometry’s scope of practice to include laser and scalpel surgery.

As the nation gets swept up in the excitement of the March Madness college basketball tournament, we’re introducing a spirited competition of our own to rally states to support OPHTHPAC’s critical role of representing ophthalmology on Capitol Hill.

The Academy has focused on reducing drug waste and promoting patient and physician access to ophthalmic drugs.

The agency seeks stakeholder feedback on a proposal to implement prior authorization in ambulatory surgical centers for five procedures in 10 states. The Academy will forcefully object to this policy in our written comments.

Humana now offers separate reimbursement for diagnostic testing for ocular surface diseases following written comments from the Academy in late 2023.

In separate letters to Senate leaders, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives are calling on a Medicare payment fix in any upcoming government funding legislation.

In a letter to Secretary Denis McDonough, the Academy and 29 other physician groups called out inconsistencies in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ development of national standards of practice and urged more transparency and physician involvement in the process.

Your support helps OPHTHPAC work for physician-friendly candidates to replace them.

Companion legislation introduced in the state’s House and Senate would allow optometrists to perform a variety of surgeries and grant the Kansas State Board of Examiners in Optometry power to add more procedures in the future.