COA president-elect’s op-ed featured in three Southern California newspapers

COA President-Elect Dr. Stevin Minie authored an op-ed piece placed in several Southern California newspapers this week that focused on SB 622, Hernandez, and the ability of optometrists to safely provide access to an expanded scope of health care services in a growing market.

Dr. Minie notes “The Hernandez legislation has been closely scrutinized through more than two years of intensive discussions with stakeholders and several committee hearings. This particular iteration has passed through hearings and the floor of the Senate with a combined vote of 48-4, with Republicans and Democrats both being supportive of the careful construction of the bill.”

Dr. Minie’s op-ed, which was featured in the Los Angeles Daily News, San Bernardino Sun and Whittier Daily News this past Monday, June 8, 2015, is well-timed as SB 622 is now awaiting its first hearing in the Assembly Business & Profession Committee.

In addition to Dr. Minie’s featured op-ed, a letter to the editor by Dr. Brandon Friendman was highlighted in the San Bernardino Sun on June 5, 2015. Dr. Friedman points out that, in spite of the protests by the California Medical Association and ophthalmology “SB 622 will not lower standards of care for Californians, but rather will improve them.”

A second letter to the editor run by the Los Angeles Daily News was written by Robert Tyler, former counsel for optometrists in a case referenced in an op-ed by the California Medical Association (CMA). In his letter that responds to the op-ed that claimed ODs were seeking to perform surgery, Tyler observes “inexplicably, at a time when access to care is an extraordinary challenge for California, the ophthalmologists view optometry as a possible competitor. This is a silly conclusion.”

With a strong presence in media throughout the state, optometry is working hard to ensure SB 622 will be considered by lawmakers on its own merits and not fall prey to the redundant scare tactics relied on by medicine to derail any legislation it views as a threat.