- Illinois enacts new protections against abusive vision benefit practices
- New study adds to growing body of evidence supporting contemporized optometric scope
- AOA expands the Future Practice Initiative to support priority legislative pursuits
- Historic win: Vermont advances optometry’s nationwide scope momentum
- Arkansas doctors continue to fight for transparency and fair compensation
- Louisiana unanimously approves comprehensive VBM regulations
- Virginia expands access to patient care with new dispensing law
- Landmark Win: Tennessee Modernizes Eye Care with Scope Expansion
- Historic win for Kansas patients and optometrists
- Medical groups tally defeats as AOA and affiliates stay alert to nationwide ‘not-a-doctor’ threat
- AOA State Government Relations Committee earns 4 major wins in 2025
- South Carolina Supreme Court upholds state’s Eye Care Patient Protection Law
- Vision test kiosks elicit state patient safety alert
- Arkansas doctors rallying to defeat EyeMed tactics that undermine purpose of state’s new VBM accountability law
- State champs
- Minnesota passes long-awaited scope expansion bill
- Texas unanimously passes groundbreaking VBM access bill
- 650+ reasons why these powerhouse state sessions are advancing optometry
- Study: ‘Unprecedented’ optometry scope of practice expansion benefits patients
- Major victory for West Virginia patients, optometrists
- North Dakota secures telemedicine provisions, ignites grassroots advocacy
- How to build productive relationships with legislators
- Why you should fight for scope expansion
- Committee spotlight: AOA’s State Government Relations Committee
- How Arkansas’ major VBM law delivers on calls to promote fairness, doctor-patient relationships
- Texas optometrists mount defense in court and legislature of landmark law on vision plan abuses
- The case for expanding scope of optometry
- In rural America, opportunity for optometry amid shortfall of ophthalmologists
- Destination: Scope expansion
- Double duty: Doctors of optometry bring their vision to state legislatures
- 'High value' strategy sessions prep states’ advocacy
- VBM abuses scrutinized by state policy think tank, U.S. Senate opens new investigation
- AOA, affiliates’ foundational advocacy work advancing optometry
- South Carolina judge overrules Visibly challenge to consumer protection law
- Oklahoma secures optometry’s latest win over vision plan abuses
- What kind of impact is optometry making on the nation’s eye health?
- ‘Profits over patients cannot continue’ with VBMs; Texas testifies at health insurance hearing
- Kentucky attorney general holds Warby Parker accountable for its online vision test
- New York assembly bill potentially sows division in health care
- California warily watches ‘not-a-doctor’ wording in Senate bill
- Latest: Texas defends landmark vision plan law
- West Virginia adds optometric surgical procedures
- Florida optometrists quash effort—again—to pass ‘not-a-doctor’ bill
- South Dakota secures scope expansion for injections, optometric laser procedures
- Affiliates, AOA preparing for fresh attacks on optometry: 'Not-a-doctor' bills are back
- Texas vision plan law, now in effect, sees favorable development in federal lawsuit
- Proposal in Utah would restrict contact lens patient choice, disrupt doctor-patient relationship
- Affiliates, AOA share forward-thinking strategies for optometry’s advocates
- Texas’ vision plan law takes effect, court challenge continues
- Doctors of optometry in New Hampshire earn authorization to provide vaccines to public
- New Texas law halts vision plans’ anti-competitive, monopolistic behaviors
- YAG procedures by doctors of optometry, after cataract surgery, better for patients’ care and convenience, AOA survey says
- Affiliates’ advocacy teams prepare to convene for meeting of the minds
- Doctors of optometry in Texas and Nevada build bulwark against vision plan abuses
- DeSantis decision delivers historic win for Florida optometrists and patients
- AOA and state affiliates rally to decry and defeat discriminatory ‘not-a-doctor’ bills
- Optometry’s scope wins draw new attacks from medical and ophthalmology groups
- Regional Advocacy Meetings prime states’ advocates for 2023 battles and beyond
- Hubble Contacts fined for deceptive trade practices in Texas
- Scope victory for Colorado
- Regional Advocacy Meetings strengthen states advocacy
- Virginia scope advancement
- 1-800 Contacts’ attempt to undermine law thwarted by Georgia doctors yet again
- MOA rebuff insurers reprisals against Mississippi eye care providers
- New York gains oral medication prescribing authority
- California amends optometry’s approved treatments, medications and testing
- Kansas Insurance Department puts vision plans on notice
- State advocates fighting to defend and advance our profession
- The scope of success
- State Advocacy Summit amplifies lessons from year of historic scope victories
- Texas scope expansion gains doctors oral meds, glaucoma authority
- Wyoming expands scope to include contemporary laser-excision procedures
- Mississippi scope progresses, other states seeing early successes
- 7 states authorize doctors of optometry for COVID-19 vaccinations
- Massachusetts scope win adds glaucoma authority
- Going further-expanding advocacy efforts and educational and professional development efforts
- Pennsylvania and Iowa earn big victories to expand scope of practice
- Optometry patients win in Arkansas as ballot challenge to expanded practice law is invalidated
- VSP policy change may violate states patient protection laws
- Court-appointed official deems signatures at heart of Arkansas scope saga invalid
- Arkansas scope saga necessitates urgent action
- Scope expansion to save Americans billions annually
- State Government Relations Center presenting at Republican Attorneys General Association
- Arkansas secures expanded scope of practice
- Maryland expands scope of practice
- AOA state affiliates blaze path for optometry’s future
- Optometry can contribute high-quality health care at affordable prices
- AOA president Driving change
- NJ Vision Plan Bill 2018
- Massachusetts seeks glaucoma care expansion
- Alaska-Georgia legislative victories
- South Carolina legislators override veto safeguard patients vision health
- Georgia Nebraska advance patient centered legislation
- Indiana navigates telehealth bill exempts ophthalmic devices
- FTC DOJ weigh in on Massachusetts glaucoma care expansion
- Arizona No on contact lens prescription extension
- Kentucky heralds third party triumph in new law
- State association challenges mobile refractive service
- Texas doctor successfully challenges Aetna’s policy on panels
- Proposed state legislation doesnt address patient safety
- AOA steps up fight against 1 800 Contacts anti patient legislation
- Louisiana Governor Jindal signs expanded scope of practice bill
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Connecticut doctors secure Medicaid payment parity for optometry
Connecticut doctors secure Medicaid payment parity for optometry
August 12, 2026
New law eliminates a longstanding reimbursement disparity and directs an additional $2.27 million in Medicaid funding to optometric care—recognizing the doctors who provide nearly 9 in 10 Medicaid eye exams in the state.
Tag(s): Advocacy, State Advocacy
Key Takeaways
- A major advocacy victory by the Connecticut Association of Optometrists (CAO) raises Medicaid reimbursement for four high-volume optometric services by 10%, bringing payments into parity with ophthalmology.
- The increase, effective July 1, 2026, will provide an additional $2.27 million in Medicaid payments to optometric providers, including $1.42 million in federal funding.
- Doctors of optometry performed 167,384 Medicaid patient eye exams in 2025—88.6% of the total—demonstrating the profession’s essential role in providing access to eye health and vision care, compared with 21,394 performed by ophthalmologists.
- Nearly 9 in 10 CAO members already treat Medicaid patients, and the association expects that share to rise to 93% with higher reimbursement rates, helping more patients access vision care.
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