Volume 9, Issue 35│September 12, 2025 | | | ⏰ Time is running out! The IOA Annual Meeting, a premier gathering of Illinois optometrists, kicks off September 25–28 in Schaumburg, Illinois. Secure your spot today, only 2 weeks left! | | |
This year’s IOA Annual Meeting offers an unmatched opportunity to earn up to 18 hours of tested CE in one convenient event with all tests included in your registration!
Network with colleagues, gain fresh insights from top speakers, explore the latest innovations, and leave empowered to take your practice to the next level.
Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity to learn, connect, and grow. Register today!
About the Annual Meeting:
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Get Ready for Optometry’s Celebration! 🎉
Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 27 and join us for an unforgettable evening honoring the best in optometry. Celebrate this year’s award recipients and be inspired by remarks from incoming President & Chair, Dr. Clint Taylor. Then, get ready to unwind and enjoy a high-energy live performance by The Mix!
This is the can’t-miss event of the year! Come connect, celebrate, and have fun with colleagues from across Illinois!
| | September is Paraoptometric Appreciation Month: | |
September is Paraoptometric Appreciation Month, the only formal observance dedicated to honoring optometric staff and recognizing the value they bring to the success of every optometric practice. Throughout the month, practices across the country are encouraged to celebrate the dedication, skill, and professionalism of their paraoptometric team members, who play a vital role in patient care, office efficiency, and overall practice growth!
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Get Recognized on the PAC Donor Sign at the 2025 IOA Annual Meeting!
Make a donation of $50 or more today and have your name added to the IOA PAC donor sign displayed at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Schaumburg, September 25–28. Your contribution strengthens optometry’s voice in Illinois and ensures our profession continues to move forward.
| | The Meet & Greet with State Senator Laura Fine, Democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 9th District, was a wonderful success! Community members gathered at Professional Eye Care Center, hosted by Dr. Pamela Lowe and Mr. Frank Sclavenitis, to hear Senator Fine share her vision for the future and answer questions. IOA members Dr. Mark Burke and Dr. Sandy Block were also in attendance. A special thank-you to all members who contributed to the fundraiser! | | IOA Membership Director Jon Reid, OD & Maya Reid, OD represented the IOA at Southern College of Optometry's State Day. SCO hosts State Day every year to allow students to meet and network with state and regional leaders from different optometry associations! | | IOA Fox Valley Society President Connor Robbs, OD hosted 2 visits for St. Laurence High School’s Medical Classes at the Illinois College of Optometry. Students were able to shadow in disease-heavy clinics, take retinal photos, and learn how to use the Slit Lamp in the lab. | | |
MEMBER BENEFIT: FREE On-Demand CE Series!
Don't forget! The IOA offers FREE On-Demand CE, as part of your membership you gain access to a variety of free continuing education courses. Courses for the 2024-2026 licensing cycle are now available on the On-Demand CE platform. ODs can take all 18 regular hours of CE online through the On-Demand CE Series.
As an Illinois licensed CE provider, all courses taken through IOA will count for an Illinois license renewal.
| | The Eyes on Tomorrow Fund, previously known as the Legislative Equity Fund, is a dedicated resource created by and for optometrists to support the Illinois Optometric Association’s (IOA) state-level advocacy efforts. This fund directly empowers optometry’s fight for scope expansion, the regulation of Vision Benefits Managers (VBMs), and other legislative battles crucial to protecting the profession and ensuring patient care. Unlike political action committees (PACs), this fund is not used to support candidates but instead provides critical resources for advancing optometry in Illinois. | | |
The PAC (Political Action Committee) is a group organized to promote its members' views on selected issues, usually through raising money that is contributed to the campaign funds of candidates who support the group's position to keep our friends in office. Now more than ever, we need strong, principled leaders who will fight for equal rights, and access to essential services —Will you pitch in today to help us protect our profession and the patients we serve?
Contributions to the IOA PAC can be made as a One-Time Donation or as Recurring Monthly Donation and deducted automatically from donor's bank account or charged to their credit card. Selecting to contribute a set amount on a monthly basis is a painless and effortless way to contribute to and support the IOA PAC. Contributions to the IOA PAC fund are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.
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We want to hear from YOU!
Do you have a business question or a dilemma we can answer for you? Others may have the same inquiry. Ask away! We will answer your question in an upcoming issue.
(Don't worry, we won't include your name.)
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Eye care practitioners should report all violations of the FCLCA, including instances in which contact lens sellers fail to comply with the prescription verification provisions of the law.
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The Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act has been reintroduced by Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA)!
The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety commends Rep. Griffith for his enduring support of patient safety and urges his fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives to co-sponsor the Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act (H.R. 4282). Take action now and send a letter to your lawmakers urging them to support this critical bill.
The Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act, H.R. 4282, is vital to enhancing patient safety by modernizing the contact lens prescription verification process for millions of contact lens wearers. It would prohibit telephone calls with an artificial or prerecorded voice, also known as robocalls, from being used as a method for verifying patients’ prescriptions.
The bill amends the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA), landmark legislation that allows millions of Americans to purchase their contact lenses online. The FCLCA explicitly allows the use of telephone, fax, or e-mail for verifying the validity of contact lens prescriptions, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has interpreted the law to also allow for robocall verification. The information relayed in robocalls is often received by a number not belonging to a doctor of optometry or an ophthalmologist, or does not align with a patient’s medical record, making it difficult, or even impossible, to correctly identify the patient and the proper prescription.
Verification with doctors' offices is crucial to ensuring accurate and safe prescriptions, and robocalls put this process at risk. As a result, patients can end up with outdated or incorrect prescriptions, potentially causing serious health complications, including infections and other sight-threatening conditions.
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Daily Bright Light Therapy Boosts Visual Function in Parkinson's Disease
Healio | By Justin Cooper
September 8, 2025
One month of daily bright light therapy significantly improved visual function in patients with Parkinson’s disease and reduced sleepiness, anxiety and other clinical symptoms, according to a study published in BMC Psychiatry.
“Recently, a growing number of studies have evaluated the retina of patients with PD using OCT, [pattern electroretinogram] and [visual evoked potentials] and found significant abnormalities such as thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer as well as delays in latencies and reduced wave amplitude,” Wei-ye Xie, of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China, and colleagues wrote. “Whether these retina-related examinations can provide good clinical therapeutic biomarkers of PD is a promising direction.”
Xie and colleagues conducted a crossover randomized placebo-controlled study evaluating the effectiveness of bright light therapy vs. placebo dim light therapy in 23 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The patients were randomly assigned to undergo 30 days of either treatment followed by a 30-day washout period and 30 days of the other treatment.
Both light therapies were delivered daily for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon. The bright light therapy was 10,000 lux, and the dim light therapy was 200 lux. Both were delivered at about a 45° angle from the direction of the patient’s gaze.
Pattern electroretinogram revealed significant improvement in bilateral N95 latencies (P < .01), and visual evoked potentials showed significant improvement in P100 latencies (P < .01). Neither light therapy led to any significant change in retinal nerve fiber layer thickness.
Bright light therapy reduced clinical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Patients reported significant improvements on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (P = .025), 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Scale (P = .04), Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (P = .035) and Autonomic Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson’s Disease (P = .02).
“To our knowledge, this study was the first to illustrate safety and effectiveness of [bright light therapy] in PD patients using ophthalmological-related examinations,” Xie and colleagues wrote. “The [retinal nerve fiber layer] was not significantly altered before or after [bright light therapy], suggesting that [bright light therapy] did not affect the structural function of the retina.
Furthermore, we found that visual pathways improvement might be crucial mechanisms for [bright light therapy] in PD patients. Together, these findings suggested that [bright light therapy] was important for enhancing visual pathways function in PD patients.”
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IDPH Looks at Potential Multistate Coalition to Offset Federal Health Policy Changes
IMOC | By Deborah Hodges
September 9, 2025
Illinois Department of Public Health officials said Thursday they are exploring multistate collaborations to coordinate public health guidelines separate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Health News Illinois]
Matt Smith, IDPH's chief policy officer, said during Thursday's State Board of Health meeting that they have held conversations with other states in the Midwest and on both coasts to learn about their current guideline frameworks and how they plan to work with other states.
“(Then we’ll look) more regionally to see if there are opportunities for collaboration going forward as well,” he said.
The governors of California, Washington and Oregon announced [1] this week they will form a West Coast Health Alliance to coordinate public health guidelines separate from federal policy.
The move comes a week after the White House ousted the CDC Director, Dr. Susan Monarez, after clashing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. on vaccine policy. Four top agency leaders promptly announced their resignations in solidarity.
IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said last week [2] that the agency will look to establish its own guidelines for who should receive COVID-19 vaccines and other immunizations for the coming fall respiratory season.
He said the agency will consider guidance from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — though he noted that its members were fired and replaced earlier this year by Kennedy allies who have raised concerns about vaccine safety.
The Food and Drug Administration has narrowly [3] approved the COVID-19 vaccines for people over 65 and those with a high-risk medical condition who consult with doctors.
Dr. Jennifer Seo, the agency's pediatric medicine medical advisor, said they have been looking at several avenues to ensure Illinois families have access to vaccines.
She noted the “vast majority” of school-required immunizations are not tied to the federal advisory committee recommendations, but further conversations may be needed to “ensure that evidence-based immunizations remain accessible to Illinoisans.”
Seo said conversations are also ongoing with the state’s health insurers on vaccine coverage and how they'll handle federal recommendations in addition to those of professional associations and other medical groups.
Other conversations are happening with pharmacy groups to address any barriers to their providing vaccines to those who request them.
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FTC Seeking Input on Non-Compete Agreements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released a request for information (RFI) on non-compete agreements, saying it is seeking to “better understand the scope, prevalence, and effects of employer non-compete agreements, as well as to gather information to inform possible future enforcement actions.” The deadline to submit comments is Nov. 3 at 10:59 p.m. CT. Confidential submissions can be sent to noncompete@ftc.gov while public comments can be submitted at regulations.gov. Additional guidance can be found in the RFI.
To summarize what has occurred:
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In April of 2024, the Biden Administration’s FTC issued a final rule to ban non-competes almost entirely. Even though the FTC does not have jurisdiction over non-profit entities, it indicated that it would analyze entities’ non-profit status to determine whether the ban should apply.
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Multiple lawsuits were filed challenging the FTC’s authority to issue this rule and in August 2024 a court challenge by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other businesses led to a ruling that the ban was an overreach of the FTC’s authority. As result of this case, the FTC’s rule was nationally enjoined while the case was appealed.
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Although the Biden Administration’s FTC appealed the decision, on Sept. 5, the Trump Administration’s FTC voluntarily dismissed its appeal, thereby abandoning the FTC’s rule banning all non-competes. However, state laws, including Illinois’ law, still exist.
- By issuing an RFI, the Trump Administration’s FTC is signaling that although it does desire to potentially curb the use of non-competes, it may seek to do so more narrowly than a total prohibition. Thus, it is seeking information as to what the parameters should be.
Notably, the RFI:
- Specifically calls out the use of non-competes in the healthcare sector and asks for information about whether such non-competes have affected wages, labor mobility, or availability, quality, or cost of healthcare services, as well as whether non-competes make hiring health providers more difficult or if any healthcare services in geographic areas have been substantially affected by non-compete agreements. This indicates that the Trump Administration’s FTC is taking a special interest in non-competes in the healthcare industry.
- The fact that the RFI provides a way for individuals to submit comments anonymously is also rather unique and could result in numerous employees who feel that they have been harmed by non-competes to submit anonymous comments.
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GOP Under Pressure to Extend Obamacare Tax Credits
The Hill| By Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi, Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech
September 10, 2025
Pressure is mounting on House and Senate Republicans to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, as a number of rank-and-file Republicans push leaders to prevent the popular subsidies from expiring at the end of the year.
The issue is a tricky one for Republicans, who had opposed the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, unanimously in 2010, and united again against the two Biden-era laws that first created, and then extended, the enhanced tax credits for patients during the pandemic.
More than 24 million Americans are enrolled in the insurance marketplace this year, and about 90 percent — more than 22 million people — are receiving enhanced subsidies. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 4.2 million people are projected to lose insurance by 2034 if the subsidies aren’t renewed.
The fight over the subsidies comes on the heels of another massive battle over health care: the sharp cuts to Medicaid funding in the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill,” which Democrats are still going on offense over and Republicans are racing to defend.
Now, Democrats are seeking to dial up pressure on Republicans for a bipartisan tax credit extension. While there isn’t yet a cohesive call for Democrats to vote against a spending bill without a tax credit extension, Republicans control all levers of power in Washington, and some Democrats feel the GOP would be blamed if the government shuts down.
The subsidies expire at the end of the year, but Democrats said they view a stopgap funding bill as their best legislative chance. Republicans need at least seven Democratic votes in the Senate to pass the bill.
But extending the subsidies even for one year would cost approximately $24 or $25 billion, and Republicans argue the cost is too great. They argue the credits hide the true cost of the health law and subsidize Americans who don’t need the help. They also argue that the subsidies have been a driver of fraudulent enrollment by unscrupulous brokers seeking high commissions.
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Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!
Northern IL:
Morrison IL Practice Seeking Part-time OD (Read more)
Great Full-time or Part-time Associate OD Opportunity Available in Melrose Park (Read more)
American Vision Center is Seeking Full or Part Time OD (Read more)
Full or Part Time Optometrist to Join Bush Family Eye Care Team (Read more)
Looking for an Optometrist to Join Team Full or Part-Time (Read more)
Optometrist Wanted at Trusted Practice (Read more)
Part-Time Opportunity at Low Vision Rehab Non-Profit (Read more)
Optometrist Needed in Algonquin & Mundelein (Read more)
Optometrist Needed in Western Chicago Suburbs (Read more)
Optometrist Needed in Glenview & Pingree Grove IL (Read more)
Full or Part time OD Needed in Multi-Location Practice (Read more)
Central IL:
Optometrist Opportunity – Advanced Medical Eye Care Practice (Read more)
Gailey Eye Clinic Seeking OD in Peoria/Galesburg (Read more)
OD Needed in Springfield IL (Read more)
Southern IL:
Join our Team and be Part of 100 Years of Optometry Excellence (Read more)
Optometrist Needed in Southern IL & Greater STL Area (Read more)
Out of State:
Join Our Dynamic and Growing Practice in Beautiful Door County, WI (Read more)
Para & Key Staff:
Join our team as a dedicated Optician- No Weekends Required (Read more)
Practices for Sale:
Long-established family owned private practice in the South Chicago Suburbs (Read more)
22-Year-Old Private Practice for Sale in Oak Brook, IL (Read more)
Practice for Sale in Peoria, IL (Read more)
Equipment for Sale:
Canno RK 5 Autorefractor-Keratometer-PD-retro- illumination (Read more)
| | THANK YOU TO OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS! | |
Illinois Optometric Association
217-525-8012
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