AOA celebrates 25th anniversary of historic Medicare physician recognition victory
September 30, 2011
Former U.S. Congressman Robert Whittaker, O.D., hands AOA Immediate Past President Joe E. Ellis, O.D., the gavel used in the U.S. House of Representatives to signal final passage of historic legislation recognizing ODs as Medicare physicians.
Thousands of ODs and optometry students joined AOA volunteer leaders and other key supporters in Salt Lake City at Optometry’s Meeting® 2011 for a spirited celebration of the 25th anniversary of one of optometry’s single most important legislative victories: the recognition of ODs as physicians under Medicare.
After mounting an impressive advocacy push, the AOA’s 20-year battle for full reimbursement and fair treatment under the Medicare program ultimately ended with a stunning victory as Congress passed the 1987 Budget Reconciliation Act and President Ronald Reagan signed the measure into law on Oct. 21, 1986.
Included within the budget bill was the long-sought change to Medicare to allow equal payment for services performed by doctors of optometry.
Known as the “Mikulski Amendment” – named after its lead sponsor U.S. Rep. (now U.S. Senator) Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) – the optometric parity provision passed with support from the American Public Health Association and AARP.
Working closely with then-Rep. Mikulski and others on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. Representative Robert Whittaker, O.D. (R-Kan.) was the leading voice in Congress for optometric parity.
And standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Dr. Whittaker, then-Washington office Director Jim Clark played a pivotal role in the entire process and helped rally the AOA troops.
The victory proved to be a major win for patients, giving seniors a new level of access to needed eye and vision care.
The parity win also proved to be a watershed moment for the profession, leading the way for later victories over unfair provider discrimination, such as the recently approved patient choice/ provider competition provision included in the Affordable Care Act (Harkin Amendment).
Today, approximately 30,000 optometrists are enrolled in the Medicare program. The average allowed charges per Medicare OD is nearly $30,000. And in just 2009, optometrists earned nearly $900 million overall from providing eye and vision care services for America’s Medicare beneficiaries.
For AOA members not in attendance at the 25th anniversary of the historic Medicare victory, the AOA is making available a special edition lapel pin celebrating “25 years in Medicare.”
For more information or to request a free pin, contact Kelly Hipp of the AOA Washington office at 800-365-2219 or e-mail khipp@aoa.org.
