News from the AOA's Blog

Outreach to Federal Agencies Follows Optometry’s Successful Inclusion and Patient Access Gains

Although the new national health care reform law – most commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act – was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in late March, the Washington, D.C. battles over health care reform are far from over.

Right now, Federal agencies., led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are going through the legislation’s more than 2000 pages and are writing rules on how it will be implemented – mostly between now and 2014.

And in the first of many health overhaul implementation battles that will impact optometry, concerned ODs and students are urging their elected national leaders to join the fight and help AOA fully define the new children’s vision benefit.

Through its all-out advocacy efforts in 2009 and 2010 focusing on Capitol Hill, the AOA helped make children’s vision a top health care priority at the national level.   In fact, an AOA-backed provision included in the new law specifically designates children’s vision as an “essential health benefit.”

This now means that in 2014 all health plans participating within the new state-based health insurance exchanges will be required to provide a children’s vision benefit.  However, how “children’s vision” is ultimately defined has yet to be determined by HHS officials, though it will make an enormous difference to millions of American families.

The AOA has already begun working with HHS officials to ensure that this vision benefit – which is specified in the legislation as “pediatric vision care” – includes an annual comprehensive eye exam for kids from infancy through age 21 coupled with coverage for vision correction treatment, including eyeglasses.

To view the AOA’s policy on this issue, follow: http://tinyurl.com/27tpvx8

Unfortunately, certain anti-optometry lobbying organizations are delivering a far different message to Washington, DC about the eye health needs of kids.  These groups want to limit any children’s vision benefit to a basic screening. 

That’s why AOA has made it a priority to ensure that top HHS officials fully understand the issue and the stakes for America’s kids. As evidenced in a special video message to the AOA from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (http://tinyurl.com/25qumop ), these efforts are making a difference.

“Last month, our Department reported that in nine states, 75% of children covered by Medicaid didn’t receive their required medical, vision and hearing screenings,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “The Affordable Care Act begins to tackle that problem by making a comprehensive eye exam an essential children’s health benefit.”

Honorable Kathleen Sebelius

U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services

Washington, DC

June 15, 2010

AOA knows that it will be important that concerned Senators and House members who support comprehensive eye exams weigh-in and help make certain that the children’s vision benefit is not hijacked or diminished in any way during what could be a very lengthy and confusing regulatory process.

Concerned ODs and students from across the country have already answered the AOA call-to-action by urging their lawmakers to contact Secretary Sebelius on this issue and even more will be needed to join the fight to help millions of children across the country gain access to the eye health and vision care services they need.

 AOA members first reviewed the AOA’s fact sheet on Children’s Vision as an Essential Health Benefit (http://tinyurl.com/2ey2dnf) and then the draft letter (http://tinyurl.com/242vh68) that U.S. Senators and House Members can send to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to help ensure that her agency recognizes a comprehensive eye exam as the basis for the children’s vision essential benefit.

While the initial AOA push was launched over Congress’s August recess, even more action will be needed throughout September and into the coming months. To find out how you can help define the new children’s vision benefit by becoming more involved in AOA Federal advocacy, contact Julie Trute of the AOA Washington Office by phone (1-800-365-2219) or e-mail at jltrute@aoa.org .