Regulatory/Legislative News

Are you ready for tax “reform?” Thanks to the just-passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the tax rate for incorporated optometry practices and businesses will be reduced from its current 35% to 21% for the 2018 tax year and thereafter. Although the business tax cuts are, for the most part, permanent, the tax cuts for individuals are temporary, expiring in 2026.

On February 9, Federal Trade Commission staff submitted comment to the Washington State Legislature concerning proposed legislation, Substitute Senate Bill 5411/H.B. 1473, that would, among other things, restrict the use of telehealth eye care in which a practitioner distant from a patient uses data received by telecommunications as the basis for a prescription for corrective lenses.

It is attestation time again. In the early months of each new year, health care providers that participate in government-sponsored health plans like Medicare must attest that they are effectively using their electronic health records.

Icon Bioscience reported the FDA approved its new drug application for Dexycu, a dropless therapeutic designed to treat inflammation associated with cataract surgery.

Alcon announced that it filed trademark infringement lawsuits in the Eastern District of New York against Lens.com, Allied Vision Group and National Lens LLC on Jan. 19.

A systematic evaluation of state laws across the U.S. showed that optometrists are permitted to manage glaucoma in most states, except Massachusetts, but only 16 states have defined regulations for comanagement.

The American Optometric Association and the South Carolina Optometric Physicians Association applaud the order by a South Carolina court to dismiss a lawsuit initiated by Opternative, the developer of an online vision app designed to conduct eye examinations and produce eyeglass prescriptions.

Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, resigned as CDC director after just 7 months over financial conflicts of interest that HHS said were “limiting her ability” to do her job.

I recently heard a financial reporter refer to a 100-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as “a 100-point plunge,” which made me laugh.

The Federal Trade Commission will hold a public workshop in Washington on March 7 to explore issues regarding competition in the contact lens marketplace, consumer access to contact lenses, prescription release and portability and similar issues.