AOA-PAC election report: Optometry has outsized impact on 2024 elections

AOA-PAC, the only political action committee committed to fighting and winning for optometry in Washington, D.C., had an outsized impact on the 2024 elections by reinvesting nearly $2.2 million into the races for more than 300 U.S. House and Senate seats—with a nearly 93% success rate.  

Billed as one of the most consequential elections in modern memory, the 2024 general election is no less consequential for the profession as optometry’s advocates increasingly take the fight directly at policies aimed at undermining and ultimately controlling how doctors of optometry run their practices and care for their patients, including the abuses of health and vision plans, turf-obsessed efforts of organized medicine, and schemes of skip-the-trip-to-the-eye-doctor profiteers. 

Below, view the AOA-PAC's interactive map with a full list of endorsed candidates and incumbents, and see optometry’s advocates in action throughout the past year. 

The growing strength and reach of optometry’s joint political action arm, AOA-PAC, is a major reason why the AOA is consistently named by Washington, D.C., insiders as one of the most effective advocacy organizations in the nation’s capital. However, with less than 10% of AOA members enlisted as 2024 AOA-PAC investors, optometry’s hard-won seat at the Washington, D.C., policy-making table is increasingly at risk. 

⏩ 3 ways you can support AOA’s federal advocacy priorities. 

Election night may be over but optometry’s political and policy work continues. Hundreds of candidates who just won their elections are already reaching out to AOA-PAC in search of help retiring their campaign debt. Help us make sure that the new 119th Congress is the most pro-optometry one yet by making your 2024 AOA-PAC investment today. 

Congress’ increasing focus on vision benefit manager abuses  

The 118th Congress witnessed significant progress for optometry’s advocates in generating awareness and federal action against abusive health and vision plan policies, progress that AOA will build upon with the next Congress. 

Increasingly, vision benefit managers (VBMs) have come under fire on Capitol Hill with multiple bipartisan, bicameral probes into costly, controlling and care-limiting practices, including: 

• A Government Accountability Office investigation, spurred by a U.S. House committee and subcommittee with direct jurisdiction over health care issues, concerning VBM consolidation, market concentration and the impact on patients.
  

• A U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability request for information from the Federal Trade Commission on the agency’s role in preventing unfair and harmful practices in the vision marketplace.
  

• The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations language calling for a new federal probe into VBM abuses and the growing trend of VBMs sidestepping state vision plan protection laws by inappropriately claiming federal preemption from those laws. The Senate panel echoed the case that the AOA and the American Dental Association (ADA) are making to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Likewise, Congressional support continues to grow for a legislative solution to VBM abuses in the form of the Dental and Optometric Care (DOC) Access Act. H.R. 1385 / S. 1424 now enjoys near-record support in the House and Senate, with more than 100 lawmakers backing the effort buoyed by coalition advocacy from not only the AOA and ADA but also Patients Rising, National Consumers League, and nearly a dozen other patient and consumer advocacy groups. And recently, a Congressional briefing on VBM abuses was held under the direction of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in September, while advocates also focused on VBM policies during the 2024 American Legislative Exchange Council Meeting for state legislators. 

These significant developments in Washington, D.C., and beyond were the focus of the AOA’s Town Hall on Reimbursement and Coverage Fairness on Oct. 29. Over 300 optometric professionals attended the live briefing to hear about AOA and affiliate efforts to rein in VBM abuses, including helping secure $2.9 million back to optometry practices in 2023-24. 

Looking for more information about health and vision plan advocacy? Start here: 

• The AOA Health Policy Institute Report on stagnation in vision plan fee schedules.
  

• The Avalon Health Economics Report on plan mandates leading to higher costs, less convenience and worse health outcomes.
  

• The DOC Access Act Fact Sheet with information on the priority legislation.  

Having issues with a VBM policy? Report difficulties or challenges with health or vision plans to stopplanabuses@aoa.org.  

AOA Federal Keypersons Program seeks new volunteers 

Personal involvement in the political and legislative process is among the most important contributions that AOA members can make to their profession. That grassroots participation is critical to helping convey optometry’s priorities on Capitol Hill.  

Through the AOA Federal Keyperson Program, over 95% of U.S. congressional offices in the 118th Congress are directly connected with a doctor keyperson. Those keyperson connections—forged by civic, religious, professional or political relationships—help ensure optometry has a way to provide legislators with accurate, trusted information about optometry’s priorities. But new connections are needed for the 119th Congress ahead of its seating in January 2025. 

• Interested in becoming a keyperson? Have an existing relationship with a newly elected or reelected federal legislator, or willing to forge a new relationship—fill out the AOA’s keyperson form to alert AOA’s Federal Advocacy team. Watch the AOA Federal Keyperson program relaunch webinar from Oct. 28 in AOA EyeLearn.
  

• Want more information about volunteering as a federal keyperson? Contact AOA Federal Advocacy staffers to learn about the AOA Federal Keyperson Program. 

The AOA’s Federal Keyperson Program has a long history of fighting and winning for optometry, from physician recognition under Medicare in 1986 to recent wins in the fight against abusive health and vision plans. Help ensure optometry connects at least one keyperson with every House and Senate member, so our pro-patient, pro-access advocacy agenda gets heard. 

3 ways you can support the AOA’s federal advocacy 

The seating of a new Congress in January 2025 means not only a new challenge but also a new opportunity for optometry’s advocates. Here are three ways AOA members can get involved in the profession’s federal advocacy: 

1. Access the AOA Action Center. Familiarize yourself with the AOA’s priority issues, such as the DOC Access Act, and learn how you can make contact with your legislators. Text “AOA” to 855.465.5124 to join the fight from your mobile device.
2. Consider becoming an AOA Federal Keyperson. While optometry’s opponents may have deep pockets to hire an army of lawyers and lobbyists, we can overcome those advantages through the direct, personal advocacy of the AOA’s Federal Keyperson Program. Have a relationship with your U.S. Senators or House member or want to develop one to help further AOA’s federal advocacy agenda? Consider becoming a Keyperson today!
3. Invest in AOA-PAC. Use your eight-digit, AOA membership ID number and log in from your computer to make an immediate investment to support the profession. Or, text EYES to 41444. Please consider an immediate $50 investment as we move beyond the general election cycle. 

_{*Contributions to AOA-PAC are for political purposes and are not tax deductible. Only AOA members and other eligible persons may contribute. Contributions will be screened and those from non-eligible persons will be returned. You have the right to refuse to contribute without fear of reprisal. You will not be advantaged or disadvantaged because of how much you give or because you do not give.}