Photo credit: Getty Images
Vision Lab Choice Act 2024: New bill proposed to empower optometrists and patients
Jan. 2, 2024
Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has proposed the Vision Lab Choice Act of 2024, according to reporting by Hartford Business Journal.
The bill would prohibit insurance plans from requiring doctors to use labs owned by the insurer. That would give optometrists freedom to choose the lab they use, potentially lowering costs for both the patient and provider, Murphy told David Krechevsky of the Hartford Business Journal.
Other Articles to Explore
“Right now, VBMs control practically every part of the vision industry — the insurance plans, the manufacturers for frames and lenses, the vision labs — and they use that power to eliminate choice and drive up costs for doctors and patients,” Murphy told Krechevsky. “This bill would solve a small piece of that problem by making sure optometrists aren’t forced to use a VBM’s preferred vision lab.”
He added in his comments to Krechevsky that the Vision Lab Choice Act is based on a law that already exists in Connecticut, and will ensure that “that VBMs regulated at the federal level can no longer sidestep our state protections.”
>>Click HERE to read more about this proposed legislation>>
