Advocacy News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized a rule to reform prior authorization use in Medicare Advantage plans last week, advancing one of the Academy’s top advocacy priorities. Here is our analysis on how the rule will affect your practices.

Our Congressional champions urged their colleagues to provide short-term relief and long-term stability for the system. Join their call by using our advocacy tool to contact your members of Congress.

The rule makes important changes to the prior authorization process that align with the Academy’s priorities of reducing administrative burdens on practices and allowing patients more timely access to the care they need. 

The Academy and an ophthalmology coalition met with Aetna leaders to discuss the payer’s decision to maintain its Medicare Advantage prior authorization requirement for all cataract procedures in Florida, after recently discontinuing the same program in Georgia.

Despite successfully defending patient safety in these two states last year, lawmakers have introduced bills to allow optometrists to perform laser and scalpel surgery.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced a new project to aimed at identifying pathways to transplant whole human eyes to restore vision for the blind and visually impaired. Multiple awards will be given.  

A bill authorizing optometrists to perform surgical procedures cleared the California State Legislature's Assembly Business and Professions Committee in an 11-7 vote Tuesday.

Recent letters from members of Congress and physician groups to Department of Veterans Affairs health officials highlight growing concerns that a potential new national standard of practice could allow VA-employed optometrists to perform laser eye surgery — significantly lowering the quality of surgical eye care in VA health facilities.

Despite numerous communications, presentations, and meetings with the Utah Ophthalmology Society, the state’s Office of Professional Licensure Review has recommended optometric scope expansion to perform YAG and SLT laser surgery.

The Vermont legislature introduced a bill to expand optometry to include laser and incisional surgery and therapeutic injections.