NYSSO Legislative Updates
This legislative season has seen a dramatic changeover in the New York State Legislature, as the Democrats became the majority party in the State Senate and are working to establish their system of governance. The Democrats were last in the majority in 1962. We have also witnessed a very tenuous budget process as New York State seeks to finance itself in the face of shrinking tax revenues. Throughout all of this, the NYSSO Government Affairs staff has been in the halls of the State Capitol—monitoring the political climate—and advancing the Society’s political agenda.
We want to make you aware of a number of bills that could affect the ophthalmic dispensing profession, and how NYSSO is handling them.
Retail Establishment Bill
Assembly Bill 2202 (Morelle)/We are securing a new Senate majority sponsor - The purpose of this bill is to place responsibility on optical establishments, as well as the license for adhering to existing laws, rules, and regulations.
Currently law, rules and regulations do not apply to the professional conduct of owners of optical stores. Rather, they are concerned solely with licensed professionals employed in said optical establishments. This bill would extend responsibility to owners of optical establishments to adhere to the same professional conduct laws, rules and regulations as their licensed employees. It is imperative that both be accountable in order to ensure that residents of the State of New York receive the best eye care possible.
This bill is currently with the Higher Education Committee.
NYSSO Action: We are actively pushing this legislation and are currently examining ways to amend to ensure its passage as quickly as possible.
Assembly Bill 7421(Morelle)/Senate Bill 1447(LaValle)- Authorizes the dispensing of a supply of more than 72 hours of therapeutic contact lenses.
To clarify the authority of eye care professionals to dispense therapeutic contact lenses.
Advances in eye care have led to the development of contact lenses that are coated by certain pharmaceutical agents such as antihistamines or antibiotics. These "therapeutic contact lenses" will improve eye care and convenience for those people that wear contact lenses. These products will soon be available to the public and this bill will clarify the ability of eye care professionals to offer these innovative products to their patients.
Both bills have been referred to the Higher Education Committee.
NYSSO Action: We are opposing this bill because it would authorize a pharmacist to fit a medical appliance for which they have no training.
Visual Assessment Bill
Assembly Bill 4831(Morelle)/We are securing a new Senate majority sponsor - This bill authorizes opticians, who obtain an additional certification from the State Education Department, to assess a person's visual acuity, in order to determine the degree of correction necessary to compensate for various vision deficiencies such as nearsightedness or farsightedness through the use of eyeglasses or contact lenses.
Visual assessment is the skill necessary to determine the particular type of lens (eyeglasses or contact lenses) necessary to correct the usual causes of vision deficiencies. Visual assessment as such is a mechanical process, not a medical procedure. However, visual assessment is an essential component of vision care since it determines the degree of correction lenses must provide in order to correct the vision deficiencies. Visual assessment does not constitute an examination of the interior of the eyeball for purposes of determining pathologies or other medical conditions of the eye. As a nonmedical process, but one which is essential to the dispensing of corrective lenses, there is no reason that opticians who are appropriately trained should not practice visual assessment. The vast majority of consumers who have vision deficiencies described in this bill do not have medical conditions attendant to or causing such deficiencies. In these cases, the need for an eye examination, other than assessing the consumer's visual acuity, is uncalled for and not warranted.
The net effect of this bill will be to expand corrective vision services to the consumer by expanding the number of eye care practitioners who may perform visual assessment and thereby prescribe corrective lenses. This also allows the consumer to obtain prescribing services for corrective lenses from the practitioner who, in the majority of cases, will ultimately dispense the eyeglasses or contact lenses. The bill also provides an additional consumer protection by requiring opticians who perform visual assessment to refer consumers to an ophthalmologist or optometrist if their vision cannot be corrected beyond a certain point by lenses. It should be noted that visual assessment is not foreign to the scope of practice of opticianry presently. Those opticians who are certified to dispense contact lenses are essentially skilled in and visually assess consumers presently in order to properly fit contact lenses. This process is referred to as over-refracting. In addition, practitioners who would practice visual assessment must meet additional education and clinical requirements and be certified by the commissioner after passing an examination.
This bill is currently with the Higher Education Committee.
NYSSO Action: NYSSO remains committed to seeing this legislation passed as soon as possible.
Other Bills of Interest
Assembly Bill 1382(Wright)/Senate Bill 1126 (Perkins) - To educate and promote safe and preventive vision care among children.
This legislation is necessary to ensure that children and parents receive appropriate education regarding proper eye care. It will establish, similar to Florida, Texas and Ohio, a voluntary fund which will be administered by the Department of Health to support programming and services that will focus on detection and prevention of eye problems in children. Such programs will include establishment of a targeted voluntary case management system to determine whether children with amblyopia are receiving proper vision care, training for teachers, parents and other leaders in schools to find vision problems early on and have the child seek appropriate treatment; and establishing a grant program for the purchase and distribution of protective eye wear for children.
Both bills are in the Senate and Assembly Health Committee.
NYSSO Action: The Society supports legislation that promotes healthy vision—one of our most precious senses.
AB 6502(Ortiz)/No Senate Bill to date - To enact the Consumer Lens Protection Act in relation to producing, prescribing, marketing, selling and distributing contact lenses.
Consumers of contact lenses pursuant to valid prescriptions should not be unreasonably denied the opportunity to purchase their contact lenses from their retailer of choice.
The "Contact Lens Consumer Protection Act" would increase competition in the market and allow consumers to have more options when purchasing their contact lenses.
This bill is currently with the Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee.
NYSSO Action: The Society is monitoring this one house bill, which closely follows current FDA/FTC regulations.
