“A bill to amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to improve health care coverage under vision plans, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section amends the Public Health Service Act to establish new section 2719B, which imposes requirements on group health plans and health insurance coverage (including limited scope vision benefits, i.e., excepted benefits covering eye exams, glasses, and contacts) that provide vision care benefits. Specifically, it (1) limits agreements between such plans/issuers and doctors of optometry to an initial term of no more than 2 years, with each extension requiring the doctor's prior acceptance and limited to no more than 2 years (unlimited extensions permitted subject to these terms); and (2) prohibits plans/issuers from restricting participating doctors of optometry in their choice of laboratories or sources/suppliers of services or materials for enrollees. The section further directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to notify states annually of their enforcement authority under existing law and to enforce federally if a state declines or fails to confirm enforcement within 90 days; makes a conforming amendment to exclude these requirements from specified regulatory provisions; and provides that conflicting state laws directly regulating health insurance issuers and vision benefit plans have exclusive applicability (preserving state jurisdiction).