Legislative Committee

Idaho Optometrists, 

At the time I write this, we are coming off an overwhelming victory in the Senate Health and Welfare committee regarding Senate Bill 1052, allowing optometrists to perform therapeutic laser procedures. We are now past round one of four rounds of voting that will secure this update to our Optometric Act that will allow optometry to better serve the needs of our patients. While this feels great right now, our work is not done. 

We know that this bill will only pass based on the relationships we develop and maintain with our legislators, and with those calls and emails at crucial times when all the legislators have time left to do is tally and count up all the correspondence they have received. 

PLEASE keep your eyes peeled for Lisa’s email updates through each step of this process. Feel free to involve your team and family members in reaching out to legislators. Every call or email really makes a difference. 

I am so appreciative of the testimony that was provided by many optometrists who rescheduled their patient days and drove long distances to the Capitol to give their unique perspective. I know it swayed at least one of our legislators who walked in today really questioning how she felt, putting her at ease. 

We can do this. We have put in too much time, money, and energy to let this bill fail. We need your help. Thank you to all who have put in the hours already. Let’s seal the deal. 

Thank you, 

Lauren Huber, OD

IOP Legislative Committee Chair

Greetings to Everyone

I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Stephen Farris, who will be taking over the position of Chair of the Insurance Advisory Committee this month. Dr. Farris graduated from Southern College of Optometry in 2003 and practices in Nampa, Caldwell, and Middleton. Going forward, Dr. Farris will be your direct contact for all things insurance. The email will

remain the same: insuranceadvisory.iop@gmail.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Sincerely,

Terri Haley, OD

Hello IOP Members,

I attended a virtual IMPAC (Informal Medicare Professional Action Council) meeting on 2/15/23. It was the first gathering of this group in some time. Some interesting information that was brought up was the pending end to the PHE (Public Health Emergency) that was instituted during the COVID pandemic. HHS notice of the end of the PHE was received on February 2, and the announced ending is set for May 11. There is always the possibility of yet another extension, but it appears unlikely at this time. This affects a number of waivers that were put in place with the PHE. The one waiver that may affect optometry is in regard to Telehealth services. If you or your practice participate in Telehealth services, it is worthwhile to confirm some of the changes in procedures that will occur. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any more specific questions, but voice-only (no video) telehealth services will no longer be billable. Here is a link to a simple list from CMS about the Final Rule on Telehealth for the calendar year 2023. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mm12982-medicare-physician-fee-schedule-final-rule-summary-cy-2023.pdf 

There is also a change to the E/M coding. We now have a choice of medical decision-making or time to select visit level, and CMS has eliminated the use of history and exam to determine visit level. Note that the supporting exam documentation still applies to the level of exam coded. 

Stephen Farris, OD

Insurance Advisory Committee Chair

The new legislative session is upon us. The time to communicate with our community is now here. Please take the time to share our goals and thoughts with friends, family, patients, and legislatures about the future of optometry in Idaho. I want to invite you all to visit our legislative website, www.accesseyedaho.com, and then share it with others. If you are a key person for the IOP or you have a relationship with any entity involved in our optometric future, now is the time to open communication. Please join our Facebook group, IOP ODs on Facebook. Please let me or any of your regional IOP representatives know if you have questions or concerns that you would like to discuss.  

James Bewley, OD

IOP President Elect

Communication Committee Chair

Hello Paras and Doctors!

   I am happy to announce that we will be doing something a little different at the Congress education - Thursday, October 5th, will start at 1:00 PM with classes from Mary Schmitt, ABOC, CPO (Mary spoke in Sun Valley in 2017). 

Then Friday, October 6th, paras will have the option to attend one of two different tracks - one geared to technicians, with the speakers being Mary and myself, and then an optician track led by Cira Collins, ABOM (Cira is also the Lafont area sales rep). Details on the classes will come out soon with registration, so watch your emails.

I have heard from more paras who are working on their national certifications, and that is exciting to hear more of you are taking that next step! If you are not sure which certification you want or need, here’s a quick breakdown:

• American Board of Opticianry (ABO) and National Contact Lens Examiners NCLE) are geared more toward opticians - once certified, 12 continuing education credits (ABO or NCLE) need to be earned within three years (six credits are required to be technical/ophthalmic based, and the other six can be non-ophthalmic). There are increasing levels of certification; for more information, visit https://www.abo-ncle.org/
• Commission on Paraoptometric Certification (CPC) tends to be geared more toward technicians but covers all areas of eye care, including optical - once certified, 18 continuing education credits need to be earned within three years (nine credits must be CPC certified, but the other nine can be ABO, NCLE, COPE, and even CPR certification). CPC starts with CPO and then increases levels of certification from there; for more information, visit https://www.aoa.org/member-center/paraoptometrics?sso=y

I look forward to working out more of the details before registering for the classes/continuing education we are offering in the Fall. As always, if you have questions about certification, Congress, or anything else, shoot me an email at iop.para.cc@gmail.com.

See you in the Fall in Boise, if not sooner!

Tami Arnett, CPOA, ABOC

Paraoptometric Committee Chair