In 2012 Health Care Suppliers Report "Payments" to MDs and ODs and Maybe Opticians

The Vision Council  reports that starting next year, the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which will include ODs, will go into effect as part of the 2010 Health Care Reform. (It remains unclear whether this applies to opticians.) It will make patients aware of payments of health care equipment to health care providers. The Vision Council outlines what it sees as the key provisions:

• "The law is designed to collect information about 'payments' made to 'physicians' by manufacturers of medical devices that are reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Healthcare Program (CHiP). It requires the reporting of this information by manufacturers of such health care devices.

• "Reportable 'payments' are not defined as cash only, and consist of other 'payments' such as the transfer of other items of value, including gifts, entertainment and food.
  • "The law specifically states that discounts and rebates are not included and do not need to be reported....
• "All medical device manufacturers must develop a program beginning January 1, 2012 that tracks all applicable 'payments.'" Read more.

If Health Care Reform Repealed, Vision Care Compromised

In a post on HuffingtonPost, it was reported that "in light of this call to action it is disappointing that repealing health reform is at the top of Speaker Boehner's agenda for the new Congress. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, health reform will not only reduce the budget deficit in the next ten years by more than $100 billion, it also will ensure that an estimated 32 million Americans who are uninsured or underinsured can get high quality, affordable health coverage they can rely on." 

But what is the consequence to opticians, ECPs, and their patients? The answer: "Insurers would not have to cover vision care services or eyeglasses for children even if it is impossible for a child to be successful in school if they can't see."