Advocacy News

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.  

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.

We urged changes to the proposed cataract cost measure specifications, including a call to risk adjust for social determinants of health.

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.

In recognition of our ophthalmology coalition’s concerns, five Medicare administrative contractors have canceled problematic glaucoma surgery coverage policies that were scheduled to begin Jan. 29.

We joined a registry coalition in calling for changes to proposed policies on health care information sharing by clinicians in a letter submitted this week.