Protect the Family
 
During my presidential acceptance speech at the FOA convention this past July, I spoke of my parents’ message to my brother John and me as we were growing up. That message was clear “…love each other and take care of the family”.  Taking care of the family also means protecting the family.
 
Your FOA Board has just completed its January board meeting as well as the Regional Board of Directors meeting. There are a number of legislative issues that affect the FOA family this year which Dr. Lawson, our legislative chair, has detailed in his report below.
 
How can you help protect the FOA family?
 
If you have not taken the Oral Ocular Medications course online, please take it. Your patients are depending on it!

Secondly, if you are not a sustaining contributor to OD-EYEPAC, please contribute today. Your profession is depending on it!

Lastly, recruit and welcome a non-member into the FOA family. The “Be One Get One” campaign is actively underway. For every new dues paying member you recruit, you will receive a $200 credit toward your dues. Your FOA family is depending on it!
 
Mark Twain wrote, “No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.” The general session of the Florida Legislature will begin in March and your FOA Board will be working hard to see that your rights and your patients’ rights are protected.
 
Will you help protect the FOA family? 

Barry J. Frauens, O.D., F.A.A.O.
President – Florida Optometric Association




 




Exciting times for all FOA members! We now have our improved incentive program for FOA membership recruitment in full swing. BOGO 2.0 provides the opportunity to earn significant dues credit of $200.00 per recruited member. It’s unfortunate that we do not have all of Florida optometrists enrolled as FOA members.  This is disappointing, as our resources and political strength in Florida would be significantly greater with increased membership.  All of the political battles that we fight each year to defend our current level of practice and any attempt to increase our scope to the contemporary level practiced in other states is being financed by FOA member contributions.  These battles protect our patients and benefit members and non-members alike. This year, as in all years, we must try to get all ODs in Florida to become members of the FOA.  Strength in numbers is the only way for us to have a unified voice and true power politically.  Not only will this show our opposition we are unified in our goals, but show those who govern us that we are a strong profession with many of their constituents directly involved in the practice of optometry.  
The hard part is educating non-members of all the benefits of membership, beyond the obvious benefit of protecting the profession that gives them their livelihood, which in my opinion should be enough on its own.  These benefits are not just the political power that we gain as a unified force in Tallahassee; there are also many direct tangible benefits to each member. 
 
FOA members can save thousands of dollars in benefits that can offset the membership dues.  Examples include continuing education at local and state conferences, free legal advice through FOA online resources as well as significant member discounts through numerous companies providing professional services and resources. These include reduced merchant services, personal and professional insurance, retirement planning, Medicare coding guidance, just to name a few. In addition to the benefits found directly though FOA affiliation, AOA member benefits provide priceless clinical and practice management resources.
 
Please join us in our attempt to unify Florida optometry in the protection of our patients and profession by reaching out to non-members and informing them that the benefits far outweigh the cost of membership.  By doing so you can also potentially save some of your own cost of membership with our new improved Be-One-Get-One program.

Adam L. Stelzer, O.D.
Membership Development Committee Chair


 

The 2015 general session of the Florida Legislature is gearing up with the deadline for filing draft bills now passed and early committee hearings underway.  Below is a list of legislative issues potentially impacting the provision of eye health care in Florida that may arise during the upcoming 2015 session:
 
1. Telemedicine- the benefits of online health care verses the risk to patient safety will be weighed and measured again this year. With specific regard to eye care, one state has already passed legislation banning the use of online eye exams and auto refraction.
 
2. Opticians Refracting- this issue has been discussed in the past and may become an issue this session.
 
3. 1-800-Contacts- a bill has been filed by 1-800-Contacts to ban the use of UPP in the contact lens marketplace. This issue has been discussed at the federal level and is now being debated in multiple states, including Florida.
 
4. Medical Marijuana- a bill has been filed to re-address this issue and its potential for expanded medical use in Florida. 
 
5. Vision Insurance Reform- a bill has been filed to increase patient choice and improved access to eye wear.
 
FOA will keep you informed as these bills move forward.  Please remember, any one of these issues could seriously affect patient eye health care in Florida. 
 
If you are not a contributor to FLOPAC and OD-EYEPAC, please do so today.
 


Kenneth W. Lawson, O.D.
FOA Legislative Chair
 
Contact Information
cell phone: 941-704-2047
e-mail: docjsl@aol.com

 

As our honorable profession marches forward, the relationship between legislation and regulation, professional advocacy and third party relations gets more and more complex. We all have on-going communications with people in these three areas: legislators, policy makers and third party payors. Consequently, we need every member of the FOA to be an ambassador for the profession.

I have conversations with our colleagues everyday and the most common concern is: what is the current message that we are trying to put forth in representing the organized optometric profession? We have developed a three point approach that can be used in any one of those environments. First, make them aware that optometrists are the answer to the primary eye health care question. We have the training, education and resources to meet the eye and vision care needs of all Floridians. Second, ensure that we are receiving the same reimbursement for our services, commensurate with the reimbursement of other healthcare providers performing the same or similar services. In other words, you cannot pay a different fee for one type of licensed provider versus another. And third, offer yourself as a resource to questions or concerns they may have regarding how optometry can serve the eye and health care challenges. Your FOA office and Board of Trustees can help get you any of the information you need to be an effective ambassador. If you cover these three areas you will have addressed the broad picture of a common, organized message.

As the third party picture becomes more complex, decisions that affect us not only come from Tallahassee, but Washington, DC as well. Florida is in need of some volunteer optometrists this year to help represent us. Normally we have our regular FOA delegation that goes to Tallahassee for Legislative Day and a smaller subset of that group that goes to the AOA Advocacy Day in Washington, DC. This year is unique due to some scheduling changes that the AOA had to make. Those dates are the same this year; therefore we need some people to go to Washington April 12-14, 2015. The AOA has a program in place and will help with some of the travel expenses. I will see most of you in Tallahassee those dates, but if you are not going to our state event please, contact me or the FOA office and we can help you with the details. This is a great opportunity to represent your profession for an important meeting in Washington. This is a valuable and worthy event to help support your profession in the new era of healthcare.

Our third party coding and billing information center has learned three new codes that have been approved for Optometry by Florida Medicare and Florida Medicaid. They are Prokera (65778) and Retinal Imaging (92227 & 92228). And as always, make sure you are familiar with all coding procedures, guidelines and limitations. Optometrists will need to comply with all applicable billing, place of service and clinical standards.

Tad R. Kosanovich, O.D.
Third Party Committee Chair
 

 

Florida Optometric Insurance Services

(888) 232-4136
www.fdaservices.com/association/floridaoptometric

Everett Health Care Consultants, Inc.
Medicare Consultants
P.O. Box 669607
Marietta, GA  30066
(404) 406-7962
(404) 393-1036 fax

Members 401(k) Advantage
1-888-357-3824
jons@frf.org

Merchant Services
Available through Florida Retail Federation
Jon Stolp
1-888-357-3824
jons@frf.org

Optometric Business Solutions
HIPAA Compliance, Billing Services, Third Party Assistance 
10212 Chesterton Drive
Dallas, TX 75238
www.optometricbusinesssolutions.com/  

 

2930 Wellington Circle

Suite 201
Tallahassee, FL 32309

(850) 894-1009

http://www.carson-adkinslaw.com/

EyeCarePro

20-255 Dundas Street

Waterdown, ON, LOR 2H6

Canada

(416) 238-0370

 

P.O. Box 64639

St. Paul, MN 55164

(800) 279-6520

www.icsystem.com
 

1001 Armorlite Drive

San Marco, CA 92069

(800) 759-0075

 

1927 Avenieda Plaza Real

Ocanside, CA 92056

(800) 679-9485

http://www.vweye.com/