Advocacy News

Georgia House lawmakers passed a nonbinding resolution urging the state’s Departments of Education and Public Health to work together to establish vision and hearing screening programs for school-aged children.

There are more scope bills being considered than ever before, many allowing optometrists to perform surgery after a mere 32-hour training course.  

The chances of a Medicare fix in the funding bill are dimming, but the Academy and physicians in Congress will continue to push for an urgent solution.

The House of Representatives plans to vote on legislation that would fund the government for the rest of 2025 but ignores the Medicare cuts that took effect on Jan. 1.

The Academy’s Health Policy Committee consulted with Academy staff on many of the top advocacy issues arising from the January 2025 Federal Secretariat meeting.

The heads of national veterans service organizations urged congressional action to protect veterans from unsafe surgical policies in two hearings this week.

Responding to members’ request for assistance, the Academy is fighting policies that assign lower reimbursement for certain high-level services.

We acted following member reports of claim denials for dual administration of geographic atrophy and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs.

It starts with making connections. Our new Surgical Scope Fund Committee Chair K. David Epley, MD, calls on every ophthalmologist to introduce themselves to their state lawmakers.

Stay updated with the latest information on threats to safe eye surgery in New Mexico. All New Mexico ophthalmologists are urged to contact your state representative using the Academy’s grassroots system.