The "Vision Lab Choice Act of 2025" aims to improve healthcare coverage under vision plans by amending the Public Health Service Act, applying to both group and individual vision benefit plans. A central provision prohibits health plans and issuers from directly or indirectly restricting a doctor of optometry's choice of laboratories or their sources and suppliers for services and materials provided to enrollees. The bill also regulates the duration of agreements between optometrists and vision plans, stipulating that initial agreements and subsequent extensions cannot exceed two years and require the optometrist's prior acceptance. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is mandated to annually notify states of their authority to enforce these new provisions, treating non-enforcing or non-responsive states as failing to comply. Importantly, the legislation clarifies that existing State law retains exclusive application if it conflicts with these amendments, thereby preserving state jurisdiction over vision benefit plans directly governed by them.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Health
Vision Lab Choice Act of 2025
USA119th CongressS-1716| Senate
| Updated: 5/12/2025
The "Vision Lab Choice Act of 2025" aims to improve healthcare coverage under vision plans by amending the Public Health Service Act, applying to both group and individual vision benefit plans. A central provision prohibits health plans and issuers from directly or indirectly restricting a doctor of optometry's choice of laboratories or their sources and suppliers for services and materials provided to enrollees. The bill also regulates the duration of agreements between optometrists and vision plans, stipulating that initial agreements and subsequent extensions cannot exceed two years and require the optometrist's prior acceptance. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is mandated to annually notify states of their authority to enforce these new provisions, treating non-enforcing or non-responsive states as failing to comply. Importantly, the legislation clarifies that existing State law retains exclusive application if it conflicts with these amendments, thereby preserving state jurisdiction over vision benefit plans directly governed by them.