This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
AAO State Affairs Forum celebrates ‘18-1-1’ record
DALLAS — The theme of the AAO State Affairs secretariat for the past year has been “One Vision, One Voice,” and now ophthalmologists can back up that voice and vision with contributions to a new State Legislative Fund.
AAO officers joined state society presidents and administrators at the State Affairs Forum for a review of the year's highlights and a look at future plans.
50 battlefronts
Secretary for state affairs Michael W. Brennan, MD, said the “50 battlefront strategy” that the AAO has adopted in working with state societies has begun to help promote political activism. Executive vice president H. Dunbar Hoskins, MD, said he was encouraged by the growth of state ophthalmology society membership (from 45% to 56% of all U.S. ophthalmologists) and an “18-1-1 record” of legislative and regulatory victories for ophthalmology in the past year.
From Alaska to Florida, bills to expand the scope of optometric practice were vetoed, defeated or died in committee. The chair of the AAO committee for state governmental affairs, James R. Swartley, MD, described the legislative battle in each state and called upon some of the state society leaders present to tell their stories.
The AAO plans to offer more than just advice on how to lobby. A new program for “E-Legislative Advocacy” is beginning. The state affairs section of the AAO’s web site (www.eyenet.org) now includes a list of all known state legislation affecting medical eye care, sample letters to policy makers and information on fund raising.
Fund raising was a key issue for many of the state society presidents who spoke at the forum, and several mentioned figures between $250,000 and $300,000 as the price tag for a legislative battle over optometric scope of practice. Carlos Buznego, MD, told of his own struggle to raise funds when he was president of the Florida ophthalmology society, and how the AAO’s new Sate Legislative Fund was the answer.
This political advocacy fund was established to support state societies in opposing the expansion of optometric practice to include surgery. It is not set up as a political action committee, and contributions can be made anonymously by individual ophthalmologists. The AAO board of directors recently voted to match 50% of the contributions made to the fund up to a maximum of $100,000 per year.
Questions about the State Legislative Fund should be directed to AAO state governmental affairs manager Michael Levitt (e-mail: mlevitt@aao.org).