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  • Welcome to the 2018 Advocacy Mid-Year Report 

    View this report as a printable PDF.

    Dear Colleague:

    The Academy is working hard in Washington, D.C., and in state capitals nationwide to make an impact on behalf of our patients and profession.

    Our impact can be felt in the work we perform together. We're proud to highlight these efforts for you in our 2018 Advocacy Mid-Year Report.

    Our impact is on display when we visit members of Congress in Washington, D.C., or in their home districts. You see it every time our profession provides expertise and shares the patient perspective on why policies improve or hinder quality care. Our advocacy prevents this perspective from getting lost in the shuffle of well-intentioned laws and regulations.  

    Our impact is unmistakeable when we, as the Academy, collectively tell federal lawmakers what they need to hear from medically trained eye health professionals. Together, we're making an impact.

    About the 2018 Advocacy Mid-Year Report 

    Every day, practicing ophthalmologists make it their duty to advocate for laws and policies that help us protect sight and empower lives. This report documents the efforts of hundreds of our member physicians. 

    For each of the following topics, we're providing brief video updates on the issues we’re focused on right now. Please take a minute to watch. It only takes 60 seconds to understand why these issues matter so much:

    • Drug prices
    • The Contact Lens Rule
    • Prior authorization abuses
    • Federal vision research
    • Compounded drugs
    • Anthem Inc. and other private plans’ dangerous policy changes
    • The Academy’s ongoing support of telehealth

    Take your advocacy one step further

    Once you've become knowledgeable about ophthalmology's issues, you become one more powerful voice in our efforts. Here are several additional steps you can take today to aid in our profession’s advocacy:

    • Set up a meeting with your elected officials in your town. Congress' August recess is a great opportunity, but you can do it anytime they're back home. Invite them to your practice or ambulatory surgical center.  
    • Read the Academy's weekly Washington Report Express and visit AAO.org's advocacy pages. These are ophthalmology's best source of the news that matters to you most, with the context to understand why today's developments are so important to our profession. 
    • Plan to attend the Academy’s Mid-Year Forum 2019, when ophthalmologists will advocate on Capitol Hill for our patients and profession.  

    Again, thank you for your passion and commitment to ophthalmology. Together, we’re stronger, and our collective impact is tremendous.  

    Sincerely,  

    Daniel J. Briceland, MD 
    Senior Secretary for Advocacy 

    David B. Glasser, MD 
    Secretary for Federal Affairs 

    Kurt F. Heitman, MD 
    Secretary for State Affairs 

    Enhance our federal advocacy with an OPHTHPAC investment

    Effective advocacy in Washington, D.C., requires a seat at the table. In order for our message to rise above the noise, we need to fortify our OPHTHPAC fund. Contribute to OPHTHPAC, the Academy’s federal political action committee, to give our profession access to the lawmakers who can amplify our voice. Your investment opens doors and cultivates relationships that pay dividends today and in years to come.

    Defend high surgical standards in every state with a Surgical Scope Fund contribution

    Optometric scope challenges are ramping up at an unprecedented pace. When patient safety is threatened, the Academy's Surgical Scope Fund is there to provide ophthalmology state societies with resources needed to protect high surgical standards. Your contribution helps implement a winning strategy in every state that asks for our help to preserve surgery by surgeons.