Legislation, litigation, health policy and optometry

Significant changes in health policy have occurred during the past 25 years. Directed primarily by congressional legislation and judicial opinion, many of these changes have resulted from efforts to control costs, improve quality and increase access. Optometric parity, reimbursement reform, freedom of choice, mandated benefits, commercial speech, self-insurance, competition and peer review are some of the issues that surround many of the more recent attempts at change in the health care market. Optometry has been and will continue to be affected by changes in health policy, especially with regard to issues of cost, quality and access.