Dear Colleagues,As 2018 comes to an end, another two-year legislative cycle closes for organized optometry in Pennsylvania. I am grateful for your ongoing work to protect and advance our profession at both the state and national levels and your unending efforts to safeguard the visual welfare of our patients. Let’s take a closer look legislatively at what we have accomplished together in two short years.
Our vision plan bill, SB 257, amended into HB 1013 for administrative reasons, passed both the Senate and House and is awaiting the signature of Governor Wolf. This law, when enacted, will serve to level the playing field between providers and vision care plans. I congratulate Drs. Paul Lobby and Greg Caldwell in conjunction with the Legislative Affairs Committee for accomplishing this goal.
The handicapped placard and license plate bill, passed in 2017, now includes optometrists on the list of providers who have the privilege of helping our visually handicapped patients cope with their visual challenges. Many thanks to Dr. Bob Owens and the POA’s Motorist Vision Committee on attaining this goal on behalf of our patients.
We were in a position to pass a third bill, our scope of practice modernization bill; however, we came up short. I understand the frustration we all feel with this. It is even more difficult knowing it passed the full Senate by a bipartisan 32-17 margin and that we were told we had the votes necessary for passage in both the House Professional Licensure Committee and the full House. Unfortunately, the Chairman of the House Professional Licensure Committee, State Representative Mark Mustio, chose not to run the bill and it died in his committee.
While this bill didn’t cross the finish line, we are further today than we have been in 16 years. A large part of our success was the incredible contribution of the membership in the form of letters, faxes, and phone calls to legislators as part of our advocacy campaign. It made a substantial impact. The momentum is with us as we move into another legislative cycle. You will be called upon in 2019, under the leadership of incoming president Dr. Lori Gray, to do your part. The challenge will be to reach out to our elected officials and point out the facts.
I want to thank the POA volunteer leadership, our Board of Directors, POA staff, and most importantly, each of you, our members. We are fortunate to have such a strong association. Please know your dues, your POPAC contributions, and your membership matter. Thank you for your hard work, tireless efforts, and support! A good friend once told me this is a thankless job and I’m here to say THANK YOU! It has been a pleasure to serve as your 2018 POA president. I look forward to many years of continued service to our profession and protecting the visual welfare of our patients.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rebecca Wincek Bateson, O.D.
POA President
