Arkansas Optometric Association outlines its latest legislature success in HB 1353

Starting in August 2025, with additional provisions to roll out based on plan renewals, contract changes, or by January 1, 2026, the relationship between optometrists and vision benefits managers (VBMs) will be changing in the state of Arkansas. HB 1353 will work to rebalance providers’ interactions with VBMs by expanding regulations and implementing more extensive reimbursement requirements. Joe Sugg, OD and Matt Jones, OD, legislative cochairs with the Arkansas Optometric Association (ArOA), and Matt Burns, ArOA executive director, sat down with Optometry Times to discuss the new legislation. They emphasized how the association provides a unified platform for optometrists to address industry challenges collectively.

The key motivations behind the bill stem from long-standing issues in vision care contracts. Optometrists have been facing increasingly restrictive "contracts of adhesion" with vision plans, where providers have minimal negotiation power. These contracts have consistently squeezed independent practitioners, particularly regarding reimbursement rates that have remained stagnant despite rising operational costs. Sugg and Jones, who have both been private practice owners since 2009, detailed how vision benefit managers have been vertically integrating the market by consolidating frames, labs, electronic health records, and e-commerce platforms. This consolidation creates significant pressure on small business owners and limits their competitive capabilities.

The bill's development involved collaboration with the American Optometric Association (AOA) and leaders nationwide. Their goal was to create legislation that would protect eye care providers and improve patient access. The speakers noted similar legislative efforts in states like Texas and Oklahoma, expressing hope that the Arkansas bill might inspire nationwide reform. When presenting the bill to legislators, they found surprising receptivity. Lawmakers quickly understood the parallels with pharmacy benefit manager regulations and recognized the need to protect small businesses. The bill's core principles seemed inherently logical to legislators – advocating for provider rankings based on quality of care rather than product sales. Jones highlighted the bill's consumer-friendly nature, arguing it would steer patients toward practices based on medical care quality instead of product sales. He also pointed out the stark reality that service reimbursement rates haven't increased since vision plans' inception, despite exponential increases in operational costs.

Nationally, Jones and Sugg expressed optimism about potential federal legislation like the DOC Access Act, which could address similar issues in vision and dental insurance markets. Jones, Sugg, and Burns ultimately portrayed the bill as a critical step in protecting optometric practices and ensuring fair, patient-centered health care delivery.