Highlights from the 2013 AOA House of Delegates

By Marianne E. Boltz, O.D., F.A.A.O.

POA President-Elect

The 116^th Congress and AOA House of Delegates (HOD) were called to order on Thursday morning, June 27, at the San Diego Convention Center. As is tradition, the HOD begins with a bit of pomp and circumstance and standard procedures. Delegates were led by former AOA President Dr. Richard Hopping (current AOA President Dr. Ronald Hopping’s father) in a reading of the Optometric Oath. All state affiliate executive directors paraded into the ballroom, immediately followed by the presentation of the Virgil Deering Optometric Executive Director Award. The award was given this year to Bryan Markowitz from Georgia. (If you recall, our own Dr. Charles Stuckey had the honor of receiving this award a few years ago.)

2013 Optometry's Meeting: Proud to be a Pennsylvanian!

by Marianne Boltz, O.D., F.A.A.O.

POA President-Elect

There are some moments in life that you know, even as they are happening, will be memorable…moments that you will look back upon with pride and smile! Just such a moment of relief and joy occurred on Saturday, June 29 in the San Diego Convention Center at approximately 2:00 pm when my long-time friend and former fellow POA Board colleague, Dr. Greg Caldwell, was elected to the AOA Board of Trustees.

Although Dr. Caldwell’s election to an AOA Trustee position was the most significant event for the Pennsylvania delegation, it was just one of several moments and events throughout Optometry’s Meeting that would make any optometrist “proud to be a Pennsylvanian”!

Compliance Date for New HIPAA Rules is September 23

New rules for the updated Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule are effective September 23, 2013. The federal rule applies to health care providers, health plans and other covered entities and their business associates. 

New Rule
The revisions, announced in March 2013 and effective September 23, require the following steps:

• Conduct a security risk assessment;
• Revise their existing privacy, security and breach notification policies and procedures;
• Make copies of those revised privacy policies available to patients;
• Amend business associate agreements to reflect the new regulations; and
• Retrain practice staff on the revised policies

The new rule prohibits the sale of federally protected patient health information (PHI), and prohibits the use of PHI for marketing purposes without authorization from the patient. In addition, a patient may request a practice to withhold disclosure of PHI related to a particular service to a health plan if the patient has paid for the service out-of-pocket.

Federal law requires practitioners to provide all patients with notices of the measures taken to protect patient information. Failure to provide the required HIPAA notices or meet standards may result in investigations and possible civil or criminal penalties.

PA Senate votes to expand Medicare; Bill's future in House uncertain

In a 40-10 vote, the AP (7/1, Levy) reports, “The Pennsylvania state Senate approved legislation to require Gov. Tom Corbett to seek federal approval for an expansion of Medicaid eligibility to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians, although it faces death in the more conservative House of Representatives where Republican leaders have vowed not to bring it to a floor vote.” The AP adds, “All 23 Democrats voted for it, as did 17 of 27 Republican senators,” including Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware). The AP notes, “Corbett has been silent on the bill, although Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say they negotiated the amendment with Corbett’s office, and wrote certain conditions into it to make it more amenable to him, as well as Republican lawmakers who might otherwise oppose the health care law.”

PCMHs and ACOs are Forming in Pennsylvania

March 27, 2013. Drs. Paul Lobby (left) and Greg Caldwell (right), from POA’s Third Party Center, meet with Dr. Paul Kaplan, Vice President of Strategy and Integration of PCMH and ACO, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

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I share this photo with our members for many reasons. As a past president of the Pennsylvania Optometric Association, I wanted to point out an advocacy meeting for optometry that occurred while most of our members were seeing patients on March 27, 2013. Drs. Paul Lobby (left) and Greg Caldwell (right), volunteers for POA’s Third Party Center, met Dr. Paul Kaplan (middle), the vice president of strategy and integration of PCMH and ACO for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Window Tinting Requirements

In Pennsylvania, the level of sun screening (window tinting) acceptable under current regulations is a minimum of 70% light transmittance. This means that 70% of light contacting the window must pass through the window. The current regulations, adopted by PennDOT in 1996, also eliminate the requirement that sun screening be checked at the time of inspection; however vehicle owners who have sun screening materials that exceed the light transmittance requirements may be stopped and cited while operating the vehicle on the highway.

Prescription Requirements in Pennsylvania

Each state has its own requirements for spectacle, contact lens and pharmaceutical prescriptions. In Pennsylvania, prescription requirements are contained in several sections of the Pennsylvania Code. In addition, there are federal regulations for contact lens prescriptions and separate requirements for tamper-resistant pads for prescriptions written for Medicaid recipients. While some requirements are common among the three types of prescriptions optometrists write, others are specific.