Optometry legislation update

The deadline to introduce new legislation for this session has passed and several optometry-related bills, along with measures that could impact the practices of doctors of optometry, have emerged. (See also "VSP legislation would allow supplemental adult vision through Covered California" in this issue.) If you have any comments or concerns about the legislation listed below, please contact Kristine Shultz, COA's director of government and external affairs.

 New bills introduced:

 AB 1558 by Assembly Member Roger Hernández, D-West Covina, would create a public website to track the cost of medical procedures across California so that consumers can compare prices. The website would be based on EOB data from insurance companies and display the amount charged for a health care service, and how much was actually paid.

 AB 2015 by Assembly Member Ed Chau, D-Monterey Park, would prohibit a health plan from discriminating against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider's license.

 AB 1805 by Assembly Member Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, would reverse a 10 percent cut to reimbursements to health care providers who treat Medi-Cal patients.

AB 2418 by Assembly Member Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, would prohibit a health plan from denying coverage for the refill of covered topical ophthalmic products at 70 percent of the predicted days of use.

SB 935 by Senator Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would raise the minimum wage above the $10 per hour that was approved by California lawmakers in 2013. The bill would set minimum wage at $11 per hour in 2015, and grow it by a dollar the next year, and another dollar after that. Beginning in 2018, the wage guarantee would be annually adjusted for inflation.

SB 1005 by Senator Lara, D-Huntington Park/Long Beach, would permit people in the country who are not citizens/are aliens lawfully present in the U.S  to obtain health coverage through a program that would be linked to Covered California or through a Medi-Cal expansion that is funded by charges accessed on qualified health plans and other sources.

SB 1172 by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and AB 1840 by Assembly Member Nora Campos, D-San Jose, are two spot bills that were introduced related to vision screenings in schools. One of these bills will be used as a vehicle to move SB 430 forward, if necessary (see SB 430 below for more information).

Other bills from last year that COA supports:

SB 492 by Senator Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, is COA's sponsored legislation to redefine the practice of optometry.

SB 430 by Senator Rod Wright, D-South Los Angeles, would require children to get an eye exam before they enter school. Recently, Senator Wright took a leave of absence and this bill may be transferred to one of the vision screening spot bills mentioned above.

SB 780 by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, would require insurers to give proper notice if they sever ties with a provider so people know their provider of choice is no longer covered in-network.

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