Photo Credit: Texas House of Representatives
Feb. 24, 2026
A U.S. District Judge’s ruling from Feb. 20 that struck down enforcement of Texas House Bill 1696 is being lauded as a landmark ruling to protect consumer choice or a disappointment that “fails to curb monopolistic behaviors.”
The lawsuit was filed by Healthy Vision Association in partnership with the National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP), VSP Vision and Visionworks and was heard by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in the Northern District of Texas.
At the heart of the litigation are vision benefit managers (VBMs) that operate inside vertically integrated vision-care systems. Organized optometry—led in Texas by the Texas Optometric Association (TOA) and nationally by the American Optometric Association (AOA)—contends VBMs influence nearly every step of the vision care supply chain, from insurance coverage and patient communications to retail practices and product availability. Optometry groups say VBMs “steer” patients to affiliated providers and thereby reduce consumer choice.
Michael Guyette. Photo courtesy of the University of North Texas.
VSP called the ruling “a resounding win for Texans.” VSP Vision President and CEO Michael Guyette added: “By upholding the right of consumers to make their own informed decisions, this ruling empowers individuals to access affordable, high-quality eye care and eyewear in a destination that best suits their needs.”
Plaintiffs argued the law would
- Impose unconstitutional restrictions on vision-care companies’ ability to promote, advocate and encourage annual vision-care visits;
- Limit consumer value and choice by restricting how plans communicate savings, offers and lower-cost options; and
- Make it harder for Texans to access care by preventing plans from identifying participating providers who offer cost-effective services.
Healthy Vision Association President Rich Schindehette praised the decision, saying the ruling “keeps patients first. Vision care patients deserve straightforward, factual information about how to use their vision benefits. When families have access to information about all their options, they can make choices that benefit their health and finances.”
In its opinion the court said the statute would have left consumers “misled or uninformed for their own protection,” suppressing information that helps patients make informed eye-care decisions. The judge found the law ran afoul of the First Amendment because it “restricts protected speech, does not properly advance the State’s interest and is more extensive than necessary to serve that interest.”
While the court acknowledged the State’s “substantial interest in ensuring ‘local competition and patient choice’ in the vision care marketplace,” it concluded the intervenor-defendants had not shown sufficient evidence that VSP’s Premier Edge program harmed other practices. The opinion also relied on precedent placing the burden on the defender of a commercial-speech restriction: “The party seeking to uphold a restriction on commercial speech carries the burden of justifying it.”
AOA AND TOA REACT
Dr. Jacquie Bowen. Photo courtesy of the American Optometric Association.
The AOA and TOA said they will continue pushing back against what they describe as abusive VBM policies. AOA President Jacquie Bowen, OD, criticized VBM industry tactics and vowed sustained advocacy and oversight: “It seems the vision benefit middleman industry is pointing to a temporary reprieve through the courts for corrupt and thoroughly anti-patient, ‘steering and tiering’ tactics, a result of their two years of legal warfare targeting the Texas Department of Insurance and Legislature, the Texas Optometric Association and a provision of the state’s comprehensive 2023 VBM reform law.”
Dr. Bowen added that the AOA will press for accountability nationwide: “That’s why AOA and affiliate efforts will continue to advance state legislation, federal legislation and Congressional and government agency investigations focused squarely on abusive VBM policies, while continuing to expose an out-of-control industry that appears to invest in lawyers, lobbyists and loopholes instead of patient care, health awareness and doctor-patient decision-making.”
The TOA said it “will continue working with the Texas Legislature, the Attorney General’s office and our partners to explore all available options to restore and strengthen protections for Texas consumers and doctors of optometry. We urge all stakeholders to prioritize transparent, patient-focused vision care that supports the doctor-patient relationship rather than corporate consolidation in vision care.”
The organization also maintained that “the statute’s restrictions on conduct by VBMs were narrowly tailored to prevent deceptive steering and protect vulnerable consumers, consistent with the state’s authority to regulate insurance and health care markets for the public good,” and warned that “this ruling undermines Texas’ efforts to curb monopolistic behaviors in the vision benefits industry that drive up costs, limit provider networks and erode patient choice and access.”
The AOA reiterated it will continue its nationwide efforts. Dr. Bowen said, “If holding VBMs accountable requires sustained legal and legislative action, we are prepared. Through the AOA’s Stop Plan Abuses initiative alone, more than $12 million has already been restored to doctors and their practices from wrongful denials and payment refusals–real results that underscore why this work will continue.”
Read the court decision here.
Read VSP’s announcement here.
Read the AOA story on defending Bill 1696 here.
Visit the Texas Optometric Association here.
Visit the American Optometric Association here.
