Regulatory/Legislative News

Earlier this month, members of the American Optometric Association and The Vision Council met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate for federal policy reform and promote broad access to vison care, the organizations announced.

In January, the New Hampshire Senate received SB 440, a bill that would expand optometry’s scope of practice in the state to include minor eye surgeries, including several using lasers.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, according to a press release.

The Florida Optometric Association recently defeated a reintroduced state Senate bill that would have limited health care provider designations, including prohibiting optometrists from calling themselves doctors.

The Vision Council has launched PolicyWatch, an online regulatory monitoring service for the optical industry to improve access and understanding of teleoptometry-related legislative issues, the nonprofit announced in a press release.

On March 4, Gov. Kristi Noem signed South Dakota House Bill 1099 into law, allowing optometrists to administer some injections and perform some laser procedures.

Brassica Pharma has initiated a voluntary recall of its eye ointment products after an FDA inspection of a Brassica facility found a “lack of sterility assurance.”

The FDA has granted breakthrough device designation to SightGlass Vision’s diffusion optics technology spectacle lenses, which are designed to slow myopia progression in children.

U.S. Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Brett Guthrie have launched an inquiry into abusive marketplace tactics of vision and dental plans, according to the American Optometric Association.

Despite a decrease in total Medicare-allowed payments for laser trabeculoplasty across the U.S. and in three key states from 2015 to 2018, there was an increase in payments by optometrists vs. ophthalmologists, according to research.