Volume 10, Issue 4 │February 6, 2026

Love Your Eyes Campaign: Feel free to download and share these graphics on your practice’s social media pages to remind patients to take breaks and care for their eyes. ❤👁✨

Don't forget to get 12 tested hours this renewal period! We still have THREE opportunities to get tested CE.

All courses will be 6 hours TQ and run from 9am-4pm. All courses are automatically available as tested CE. The test will be automatically emailed out for every course where the attendee scans in and out. 

Licenses expire on March 31, 2026, so don't forget to complete your CE before the licensing cycle ends!

Do you provide home visits? Eye exams in Spanish? Aviation vision? Update your doctor profile today!



Every week patients use the doctor lookup feature on the IOA/AOA website or call the IOA looking for an OD in their area. Oftentimes they are looking for services such as home visits or optometrists who speak a certain language. Update your IOA/AOA profile so patients can easily find you by logging into your profile at the link below.

February is Low Vision Awareness Month!

Here are some ways to spread awareness during Low Vision Awareness Month:

• Raise awareness through in-office and digital outreach
• Identify patients early, especially those with chronic eye disease
• Educate patients on low vision care and rehabilitation options
• Promote low vision devices and assistive technology
• Engage staff and caregivers in the care process
• Focus messaging on independence and quality of life

IOA member Dr. Ria Patel was recently featured on FOX Illinois’ Wellness Wednesday, where she highlighted the importance of diabetic eye exams and encouraged regular vision care to help protect long-term eye health.

Congratulations to IOA member Dr. Carrie Roitstein on joining the Women in Optometry 2026-2028 Advisory board! She will join fellow IOA member Dr. Chelsey Moore who is serving until 2027.

Dr. Maya Reid and Dr. Jon Reid (IOA Membership Director) were featured by Southern College of Optometry for their outstanding fundraising efforts supporting Student Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity (SVOSH). Through their annual Eye 5K fundraiser, they’ve helped raise thousands of dollars to support student-led global vision care, making a meaningful impact both locally and worldwide!

Please join the Southern Illinois Optometric Society and the IOA in supporting State Rep Paul Jacobs, O.D., in his race for the Illinois Senate!

An IOA member Rep. Jacobs is currently running for the Illinois Senate in the 59th district to replace retiring Senator Dale Fowler. Join your fellow optometrists in supporting the ONLY optometrist in the Illinois General Assembly. Your contribution will help support the campaign for State Rep. Paul Jacobs, O.D. as he runs for the Illinois Senate.

Contributions may be made to the campaign via check.

About Rep. Paul Jacobs, O.D.

Representative Paul Jacobs has been an optometrist for over 45 years, practicing in several communities throughout Southern Illinois. He currently serves in the 118th district as the elected representative for all of Alexander, Pulaski, and Union Counties and portions of Jackson and Williamson Counties. Some of his committee assignments include Appropriations-Higher Education, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, & IT, Health Care Licenses, Higher Education, Veterans' Affairs, and Higher Ed-Degree Conferral. 

Dr. Jacobs has been a strong advocate for the Illinois Optometric Association, supporting their efforts to enable optometrists to practice to the full scope of their license in VA hospitals, ensuring that our nation's veterans receive essential eye care. 

Representative Jacobs also sponsored SB764, known as the Vision Care Plan Regulation Act, which introduced reforms to ensure fairness and transparency in contracts with vision plans. A key provision of this legislation prohibits vision care plans from limiting an eye care provider's freedom to choose their suppliers, materials, or labs, or from requiring them to purchase materials from a source owned by the entity that issued the vision care plan. SB764 also mandates that eye care providers post a notice to patients if they do not accept the fee schedule set by the insurer for vision plans. 

MEMBER BENEFIT: Merchant Advocate

Merchant Advocate saves you money- without switching processors!

Merchant Advocate is an expert in navigating the processing industry, saving you money by exposing hidden fees, reducing rates, and optimizing setup. Whether advising on virtual payment costs, software integration challenges, or in the handling of sensitive patient data, Merchant Advocate helps eye care practices, and the Illinois Optometric Association, save without switching processors. 

They operate on a success-based model with no upfront cost, sharing in achieved savings—directly boosting your bottom line.

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.

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.

Filing a complaint? Use the resources below to get started.

If you believe a health insurance company is violating the Vision Care Plan Regulation Act, please file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Insurance by following the link below. If appropriate, please also encourage your patients to file a complaint. Doing so is what drives the Department of Insurance to take action against insurance companies who aren’t following the law. File a complaint with the Department of Insurance at the link below. 

Vision Plans & Insurance Companies:

Dept of Insurance Complaint Submission - How to File a Complaint

Office of the Illinois Attorney General - File a Complaint

Report illegal and unsafe contact lens sales to the FDA & FTC:

Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act compliance and safety | AOA

IDFPR:

IDFPR | File a Complaint

Medicaid Managed Care Complaint Portal:

Managed Care Provider Resolution Portal | HFS

HFS: Provider Notice Issued 2/2/2026

This notice is to inform all participating Medical Assistance Program Providers that the provider enrollment roster template, located on the Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans (IAMHP) website,  Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans, has been updated effective February 1, 2026.  Please note that the previous template will no longer be available or accepted by HealthChoice Illinois Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) after January 31, 2026. 

Pursuant to 305 ILCS 5/5-30.1 (g-10) (1), the provider enrollment roster template is standardized across all HealthChoice Illinois Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). The updates in the template include:

• The Group/Location tab has been renamed to the Group/Agency tab.
• The addition of several fields in the Practitioner tab that capture the HIPAA compliance and accessibility of telehealth services at the practitioner’s location.
• The addition of two fields in the Practitioner tab that capture the ethnicity and race for all practitioners.
• The switching of the “Location Phone” field and the “Appointment Phone” fields in the Practitioner, Group/Agency, and Facility tabs.
• The Instructions and Directions tabs across all provider types have been updated to reflect the above changes.

The process and cadence for submitting the standardized roster remains the same. Medicaid providers must complete the standardized roster when making changes to all HealthChoice Illinois network listings. To assist with more timely credentialing and provider load, it is prudent to complete and send the roster to the MCO at the same time you submit your IMPACT application or modification or have changes or updates to your practice or agency (e.g. provider name changes, office location updates, new providers joining a practice, etc.). Timely updates will ensure the MCOs' directories are current, and accurate payments to providers can be made. All licensed roster staff providing direct care services in your organization must be added to the roster.

The universal format addresses the information needs of individual providers, group practices and facilities. Additionally, the format ensures compliance with recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rules on the scope of information that should be made available to Medicaid beneficiaries in provider directories. The provider roster cannot be used for credentialing providers. Effective January 1, 2018, HFS assumed the sole responsibility for credentialing through the State's IMPACT registration system.

In addition to the updated roster, MCO specific instructions and a list of Frequently Asked Questions can be found here: Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans.

IDPH Opioid Overdose Reversal Agent Standing Order

A revised Illinois Opioid Overdose Reversal Agent Standing Order, signed by Sameer S. Vohra, MD, the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, is now available on the IDPH website. This standing order expires on October 31, 2026.



Key Updates in the Revised Standing Order:

Registration Requirement Removed

Registration with IDPH is no longer required. The standing order can now be downloaded directly from the IDPH website.

Access the revised order here: Illinois Opioid Overdose Reversal Agents Standardized Procedure



Medication Brand Names Removed

This standing order lists only the generic medication name

New Formulation Added

Includes Naloxone Single-dose nasal spray - 3 mg/0.1 ml



Libraries Added as Naloxone Entities

Beginning January 2026, Illinois public libraries are included as naloxone entities. This change supports emergency preparedness in cases of overdose on library grounds, nearby areas, or at library-sponsored events.(See: Illinois Local Library Act, 75 ILCS 5/1-8)

Reporting for Illinois Retail Pharmacies: All opioid antagonist drugs dispensed by Illinois retail pharmacies must be reported to ILPMP by the end of the business day. Questions can be directed to ILPMP Pharmacy Compliance at DHS.DBHR.PharmacyCompliance@Illinois.gov

Student Loan Borrowers in Illinois Could Face Federal, State ‘Tax Bomb’ in 2026

Capitol News Illinois | By Sam Freeman

January 30, 2025

SPRINGFIELD — For the first time in five years, certain forms of student loan forgiveness will be taxable following a change in federal tax policy this year.



This comes after a provision of the American Rescue Plan Act expired Dec. 31. That measure, signed into law in 2021 by former President Joe Biden, temporarily excluded student loan debt from federal income taxes.

And those tax implications could extend to Illinois state taxes as well unless lawmakers act.

President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted last summer, did not make the student loan tax forgiveness provision permanent. As a result, student loans that are canceled or partially forgiven in 2026 and beyond will see taxes owed on those forgiven amounts, advocates said. These taxes could amount to as much as $10,000, depending on the borrower’s income.

This includes income-driven repayment plan-related forgiveness; some closed school discharges — where 100% of a student loan obligation is wiped out if a school closes — and private settlements. Meanwhile, some forms of loan forgiveness remain tax-free, such as public service loan forgiveness, teacher loan forgiveness, and death and disability discharge programs.

According to a report from Protect Borrowers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the burden of student debt, two-thirds of people who receive loan cancellation under income-driven repayment plans earn less than $50,000 a year and have less than $1,000 in savings.

“A tax bomb on people with that amount of assets and that amount of income, it could be really financially devastating,” said Jennifer Zhang, a researcher for Protect Borrowers.

A group of congressional Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent on Nov. 9 calling the tax reinstatement a “financial disaster for working-class Americans.”

Illinois will also tax loan forgiveness

In addition to federal taxes, some borrowers will also face a similar tax hike at the state level. Illinois is one of 20 states whose tax codes automatically conform to the federal change. This means that unless Illinois legislators decouple the conforming provision before taxes are due next year, student loan forgiveness amounts will also be taxed by the state.

“I would certainly be supportive of (decoupling),” Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, said, although it’s currently not an issue that has reached the Illinois state legislature.

Durbin Seeks Answers on Operation of TrumpRx

Health News Illinois | By Staff

February 2, 2025

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, joined colleagues last week to seek answers on how the Trump administration plans to operate its direct-to-consumer platform to buy discounted prescription drugs.

The senators said in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services' Inspector General T. March Bell that they want further assurances that the program named TrumpRx will comply with federal statute that prohibits the willful payment of remuneration to induce patient referrals for Medicare or Medicaid-covered services or goods.

They noted that guidelines for the program were released last week, just days before its planned launch to consumers.

“We believe the characteristics of the TrumpRx website require further HHS OIG review prior to launch of this government program,” the senators said in their letter.

They also noted potential conflicts of interest related to the program, particularly that Donald Trump Jr. sits on the board of a dispensing company that could benefit from TrumpRx.

Another issue the senators said was, because pharmaceutical manufacturers have used advertisements to steer patients, “we believe additional safeguards and transparency are required for any ‘.gov’ website that will be promoted extensively by the White House and pharmaceutical manufacturers.”

Other senators on the letter include Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Peter Welch, D-Vt.

HHS did not return a request for comment.

The portal was intended to go live in January, though HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. announced last week that the launch would be delayed by at least a week.

Some Blind Fans to Experience Super Bowl With Tactile Device That Tracks Ball

— About 10 blind and low-vision fans will have an opportunity to use the technology

MedPage Today| By AP

January 19, 2025

Some blind and low-vision fans will have unprecedented access to the Super Bowl thanks to a tactile device that tracks the ball, vibrates on key plays, and provides real-time audio.

The NFL teamed up with OneCourt and Ticketmaster to pilot the game-enhancing experience 15 times during the regular-season during games hosted by the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and Minnesota Vikings.

About 10 blind and low-vision fans will have an opportunity to use the same technology at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California, where Seattle will play the New England Patriots on Feb. 8. With hands on the device, they will feel the location of the ball and hear what's happening throughout the game.

Scott Thornhill can't wait.

Thornhill, the executive director of the American Council of the Blind, will be among the fans at Levi's Stadium with a OneCourt tablet in their lap and Westwood One's broadcast piped into headphones. He was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa when he was 8, and later lost his sight.

"It will allow me to engage and enjoy the game as close as possible as people who can see," Thornhill told the Associated Press. "As someone who grew up playing sports before I lost my vision, I'm getting a big part of my life back that I've been missing. To attend a game and not have to wait for someone to tell me what happened, it's hard to even describe how much that means to me.

"It's a game-changer."

Clark Roberts experienced it first hand.

The Seahawks fan was invited by the team to attend its home game against Indianapolis on Dec. 14 to experience the game with the OneCourt device that is the size of a thick iPad with raised lines outlining a football field.

"The device does two wonderful things," said Roberts, who lost his sight when he was 24 due to retinitis pigmentosa. "It vibrates in different ways for different plays; and through headphones, I was able to hear Seattle's amazing announcer, Steve Raible. Real-time audio is the real beauty of the device, because usually when I'm listening to a game, there can be a delay of up to a minute or more and that can be challenging to constantly ask family and friends what happened.

"Can you imagine how this can open up everything, not just football?"

OneCourt is working on it.

It has partnered with NBA and Major League Baseball teams to provide its devices at games and is in talks to make them available with the NHL, along with other leagues and sports organizations all over the world.

OneCourt launched in 2023 after founder Jerred Mace saw a blind person attending a soccer match while he was a junior at the University of Washington.

The startup with headquarters in Seattle uses the NFL's tracking data from Genius Sports and translates it into feedback for the device to create unique vibrations for plays such as tackles and touchdowns.

The data is generated from cameras and chips embedded in balls, jerseys, and elsewhere. The same technology is used by the NFL's NextGen Stats for health and player safety, statistics, and gambling.

Photo source: Lindsey Wasson

Telehealth Extensions, Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform: What’s in the New Spending Package

Healio | Andrew Rhoades

February 5, 2025

Key takeaways:

• The five-bill minibus extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home program.
• It also improves transparency in pharmacy benefit manager practices.

Congress passed a bipartisan spending package on Feb. 3 that carries ramifications for telehealth, pharmacy benefit managers, funding for physicians’ mental health resources and more.

The five-bill, $1.2 trillion spending package was signed into law by President Donald J. Trump, ending a partial 3-day government shutdown.

The five-bill minibus extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home program.

Telehealth provisions

According to the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), among the telehealth provisions extended through the “minibus” include:

• Medicare telehealth flexibilities, extended through Dec. 31, 2027;
• the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, extended through Sept. 30, 2030;
• in-home cardiopulmonary rehabilitation flexibilities, extended through Jan. 1, 2028;
• inclusion of virtual diabetes suppliers in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program, extended through Dec. 31, 2029; and
• a requirement that HHS issue guidance within 1 year on furnishing telehealth services to individuals with limited English proficiency.

“This is a significant and hard-earned win for the telehealth community and for ATA and ATA Action,” Alexis Apple, ATA vice president of public affairs, told Healio. “We've worked so hard for this for over half a decade at this point, and it’s exciting to see finally have this multi-year extension of telehealth in place.”

ATA “will continue to ramp up our permanency advocacy” for these flexibilities, Apple said.

“We will continue to talk with committee staff to make sure they have the right information, the right research and the right data to make informed decisions about permanency,” she said.

PBM reform

The spending package additionally approves pharmacy benefit manager reforms that “mark meaningful progress toward strengthening pharmacy reimbursement in Medicare and will help pharmacies sustainably dispense medications,” a press release from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) said.

CMS must now “define and enforce relevant, reasonable and transparent Part D contract terms for pharmacies” — while including information about dispensing fees and reimbursement — “with a request for information on April 1, 2027; standards by 2028; and implementation on Jan. 1, 2029,” according to APhA. PBMs will also transition from price-based compensation to service-based payments starting Jan. 1, 2028, resulting in better transparency and alignment across Medicare drug plans.

Additionally, the Government Accountability Office and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission will produce formal reports evaluating PBM arrangements, “including how these agreements affect both pharmacy reimbursement and beneficiary out-of-pocket spending,” the APhA release said.

"While these reforms begin to address one of the most significant challenges pharmacists face under Medicare, they represent one part of the broader effort needed to strengthen pharmacy access and fully support patient care," Michael D. Hogue, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, FFIP, APhA executive vice president and CEO, said in a press release.

William F. Harvey, MD, MSc, FACR, president of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), said this greater PBM overweight is a “positive outcome.” The reforms will ensure that 100% of rebate savings are passed to patients, “an important step in ‘delinking’ PBM income from negotiated drug prices,” an ACR press release said.

Other important provisions

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) on X said that funding for the National Health Service Corps and other programs have been extended, which are positive “steps toward strengthening primary care.”

“The AAFP continues to advocate for permanent reauthorization of these vital health care programs,” the organization said.

The spending package also includes the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act and continued funding for women’s health research, initiatives and access to preventive care, Steven J. Fleischman, MD, MBA, FACOG, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement.

“Reauthorizing the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act will help ensure that Maternal Mortality Review Committees have the federal support they need to continue critical efforts to eliminate preventable maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidities,” he said.

The package additionally reauthorized the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, a milestone policy for physician mental health.

“As doctors, we devote our focus to caring for our patients, but we also need access to resources that can help us care for our colleagues and ourselves — the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act provides some of those resources,” Fleischman said.

DEA Extends Telemedicine Flexibilities to Ensure Continued Access to Care

DEA | Press Release

December 31, 2025

New Rules Expand Telehealth Options for Opioid Use Disorder and Veterans’ Treatments

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has issued a Fourth Temporary Extension of the COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for the Prescription of Controlled Medications, extending the current telemedicine flexibilities through December 31, 2026. 

Under these telemedicine flexibilities, DEA-registered practitioners are permitted to remotely prescribe Schedule II-V controlled medications via audio-video telemedicine encounters, including Schedule III-V narcotic controlled medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for maintenance and withdrawal management treatment of opioid use disorder via audio-only telemedicine encounters, without having ever conducted an in-person medical evaluation, provided that such prescriptions otherwise comply with the requirements outlined in DEA guidance documents, DEA regulations, and applicable federal and state law. 

“DEA supports telehealth access for patients who need medication, but not at the expense of public safety,” said DEA Assistant Administrator Cheri Oz, Diversion Control Division. “These rules aim to protect patients, expand access to care, and close the door on diversion into the illicit drug market.” 

DEA recognizes that the expiration of the current telemedicine flexibilities without further regulation could disrupt patient care. This extension provides critical benefits, including:

• Ensuring continuity of care for patients who rely on telemedicine, particularly those in rural and underserved areas, the elderly, and patients with mobility limitations
• Preventing a backlog of patients needing in-person appointments
• Allowing time to finalize and implement regulations that balance access to care with the necessary safeguards against drug diversion

On January 17, 2025, DEA and HHS published two final rules titled Expansion of Buprenorphine Treatment via Telemedicine Encounter and Continuity of Care via Telemedicine for Veterans Affairs Patients (collectively referred to as the “Two Final Rules”). These rules take effect December 31, 2025. 

The Fourth Temporary Extension, along with the Two Final Rules, provides three distinct sets of authorities for telemedicine prescribing, each with unique requirements. Practitioners covered by one or both of the Two Final Rules may continue to utilize the telemedicine flexibilities under the fourth temporary rule, which imposes fewer requirements than the Two Final Rules. 

For more information: Federal Register :: Fourth Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications.

Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!

Chicago:

Optometrist Needed in Chicago (Read more)

Northern IL:

Small Private Practice in Morris, IL Seeking PT Optometrist (Read more)

Chicago Suburbs:

Optometrist Needed in Algonquin & Mundelein (Read more)

Associate Optometrist – Part-Time with Path to Ownership (Read more)

Great FT or PT Opportunity at Primary Eyecare Center in Rockford, IL (Read more)

Part Time OD Needed at Private Practice in Schaumburg, IL (Read more)

Optometrist – Full Time - Private Practice - Yorkville, IL (Read more)

Excellent Private Practice Opportunity for Part-Time Associate in Northbrook, IL (Read more)

Optometrist Opportunity — Lake Zurich & Grayslake, IL (Read more)

Optometrist Needed in Western Suburbs (Read more)

Full-Time Optometrist Needed at Geneva Eye Clinic in Geneva, IL (Read more)

On-Site OD Needed with Illinois Department of Corrections (Read more)

Optometrist Opportunity in Riverwoods, IL (Read more)

Central IL:

Join the Community Eye Care Family! Full-Time Optometrist – Pana & Taylorville, IL (Read more)

Join the Community Eye Care Family! Full-Time Optometrist – Mt. Zion, IL (Read more)

On-Site Opportunity with IL Dept of Corrections (Read more)

Southern IL:

OD Needed in Greater STL Area & Throughout Southern IL (Read more)

On-Site Opportunity with IL Dept of Corrections (Read more)

Out of State:

Pediatric OD Needed in West Des Moines, IA (Read more)



OD Needed in Waukesha, WI (Read more)

Pediatric Optometrist Needed in West Des Moines, Iowa (Read more)



OD Needed in Jackson Michigan (Read more)

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