Volume 6, Issue 9 March 4, 2022
ASSOCIATION NEWS
License Renewal Portal Now Open

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) has now opened the renewal portal for optometrists. Additionally, DFPR will pass a variance extended the license renewal deadline until May 31, 2022. IOA has published FAQs on how to renew under the updated license renewal process.

Click here to read the FAQs before renewing your license.
Legislation to Allow ODs COVID-19 Vaccination Authority Passes House

HB 4929, sponsored by Representatives Theresa MahDagmara Avelar, and Paul Jacobs, O.D. passed the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously. The bill allows for ODs in Illinois to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to patients 17 years and older. The bill now heads to the Illinois Senate.

Thank you to the IOA PAC Committee, PAC Donors, Keyperson, and IOA members who helped to support this scope expansion effort.
Masks Continue to be Required in Healthcare as State Lifted Indoor Mask Mandate on Feb 28

Gov. Pritzker announced in February that the indoor mask mandate would be lifted on February 28 as long as COVID numbers continued to drop. While the mask mandate was lifted this week, mask requirements still apply in healthcare settings.

The governor's press release outlines the following situations where masking will continue to be required:


Masking requirements are also outlined in an FAQ here.
Report illegal and unsafe contact lens sales to the FDA & FTC
2022 Medicare Fee Schedules

Locality 12: Excel or PDF

Locality 15: Excel or PDF

Locality 16: Excel or PDF

Locality 99: Excel or PDF
Labor Law Poster - 2022 Updates
Reminder: Executive Order on Vaccine/Testing Mandate
 
As a reminder, the Executive Order mandating that all health care workers must either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly (at minimum) testing for COVID-19 is still in effect. Employers must either maintain proof of vaccination status or proof of weekly negative COVID-19 tests in their personnel files.
 
Click here for a Q&A put together by the IOA
 
Click here for a Q&A issued by the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
 
Click here for information about a COVID-19 saliva testing program through ArcticDX
Girl Scouts Earn Vision Awareness Badge

Dr. Tim Cundiff hosted Brownie Girl Scouts this week where 15 Brownies earned their Vision Awareness patch.

Interested in hosting a troop in your office?
  • Click here for a packet to assist you in reaching out to troops in your local area.
  • Click here to request Vision Awareness Patches from the IOA.
NEW IOA PAC Donor!
 
The IOA Legislative Committee and PAC Board would like to thank the following member for their recent PAC donation:
 
Ansel Johnson, O.D.
Central City Optometric Society
 
Thank you for your support!
Remembering Lawrence Chadwick, O.D.

Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Chadwick passed away on February 17, 2022, at the age of 90. Dr. Chadwick was born in Michigan and moved to Illinois to pursue education, as dyslexia left him struggling to learn to read. After finding a teacher who taught reading skills to dyslexic students, Dr. Chadwick flourished in his education, eventually graduating from Illinois College of Optometry in 1955. Dr. Chadwick joined Dr. W.W. Sherwood in a practice in Galesburg, IL where he was later joined by Dr. Sherwood's son, Dan Sherwood, OD. He retired in 1996, but in 1999 Dr. Pete Kehoe persuaded him to come out of retirement to work at Kehoe Eye Care. As the scope of practice had changed, Dr. Chadwick had to pursue education to become DPA and TPA certified 44 years after attending optometry school. Dr. Chadwick retired from Kehoe Eye Care in 2016. Dr. Chadwick and his wife Doris celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2021. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 5, at the First United Methodist Church in Galesburg, IL.
Members in the News

In February, IOA member Dr. Pam Lowe joined Dr. Melanie Frogozo for CooperVision's ECP Viewpoints podcast to discuss the past, present, and future of advocacy in optometry. Dr. Lowe discussed the advancements the profession has made over her optometric career. She discussed her role in passing TPA legislation and later Orals legislation in Illinois.
Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!



Full time Optometry associate needed for 2 small town locations. Tuscola and Sullivan 
This opportunity could lead to ownership in the future. (Read more)


Looking for a part time doctor in a busy medical based practice in a rural setting (but only 45 min from St Louis). (Read more)
ILLINOIS NEWS
Update on Prescription Monitoring Program EHR Integration

PMPnow is the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program’s (ILPMP) integration for a direct connection to an Electronic Health Record System (EHR), Electronic Medical Record System (EMR), ONC Certified Health IT Module, or Pharmacy Management System. The ILPMP is currently connected to more than fifty EHRs and Certified Health IT modules. For more information on different types of PMPnow connections or to make your connection, please email Jackie DeNardo and Jen Erickson with the ILPMP program.
Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike to Step Down

NBC Chicago reports that Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike will be stepping down after serving as Director for three years. Dr. Ezike's last day will be on March 14. “It has been a great honor serving the people of Illinois as the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Being the state’s top doc during a global pandemic has been challenging to say the least, but it’s been an amazing journey to work with so many great public health professionals and leaders from all sectors,” Dr. Ezike said in a statement. Gov. Pritzker declared Tuesday, March 1, Dr. Ezike Day in recognition of her role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois. Dr. Amaal Tokars, the current assistant director at IDPH, will serve as the interim director.
Public Health Officials Announce 10,462 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 10,462 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 272 deaths since February 25, 2022. 

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,037,199 cases, including 32,926 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since February 25, 2022, laboratories have reported 750,521 specimens for a total of 55,089,500. As of last night, 843 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 153 patients were in the ICU and 77 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. 

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 25 - March 3, 2022 is 1.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 25 - March 3, 2022 is 1.6%. 

A total of 21,157,960 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 12,488 doses. Since February 25, 2022, 87,414 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, 76% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 67% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 49% boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   

Beginning this weekend, daily deaths reported on weekends and at the beginning of the week may be low as IDPH and local health departments move away from reviewing and processing COVID-19 death records over the weekend. Those deaths will be captured in subsequent days.

*All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19.

Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov
FEDERAL NEWS
AOA to CMS: Hold Medicare Advantage plans accountable

In a March 2 letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the AOA urged more action to support patient access to eye health and vision care under Medicare Advantage plans.

With a potentially hefty revenue increase for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans looming in 2023, the AOA is calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that plans are held accountable for improved patient benefits and care, and that it put an end to discrimination against doctors of optometry when it comes to participation in the plans.

In a March 2 letter to Meena Seshamani, M.D., Ph.D., director, Center for Medicare, the AOA affirms the CMS for its instruction to MA plans to advance health equity, offering benefits that address critical care gaps and barriers to care, and a recommendation to MA plans to focus on equitable delivery of preventive and medical benefits.

However, the AOA expressed its concern that more could be done on the MA accountability front.
Reporting Contact Lens Violations

The FCLCA became law on Feb. 4, 2004. The act mandates that eye care practitioners, including doctors of optometry, release contact lens prescriptions to their patients. It also requires contact lens sellers to verify the validity of contact lens prescriptions before releasing contact lenses to consumers. Unfortunately, many retailers are illegally selling contact lenses or using regulatory loopholes to circumvent requirements designed to ensure the safety of our patients.
Although the AOA is not a regulatory body or an enforcement agency, we regularly meet with government agencies and policymakers to inform them of illegal business practices and threats to our patients' safety. The more informed we can be, the better we can advocate for improved laws and regulations that better protect our patients.
Therefore, we encourage you to complete and share the survey linked below and instructions on how to report illegal and unsafe contact lens sales. For questions or more comments, please contact StopIllegalCLS@aoa.org
If you are interested in combating illegal contact lens sales, consider joining the Contact Lens and Cornea Section

INDUSTRY PARTNERS
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