Ohio Optometric Association

04/02/2026

CLAIM: Ohio is among the top states for practicing physicians.
FACT: That doesn’t reflect access to eye care.

📉 Ophthalmology is projected to face a 12% workforce decline and a 24% increase in demand by 2035, with rural access already limited.

📈 Meanwhile, Ohio optometrists already practice in 87 of 88 counties and are trained to meet growing patient needs.

Expanding optometry’s scope of practice through Senate Bill 36 will help ensure patients can safely get the care they need, close to home.

Learn more: https://trustedeyecareohio.com/

Ohio State Senator Steve Huffman, State Senator Beth Liston, Catherine Ingram, Susan Manchester, Elect Kristina Daley Roegner, Mark Romanchuk

03/27/2026

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again:

More than 146,000 laser procedures have been performed by optometrists in the U.S., with a compliance or negative outcome rate of less than 0.0014%.

That means that optometrists are safely completing these office-based procedures at the same success rate as ophthalmologists.

Know the facts and how Senate Bill 36 could help Ohio patients.
https://trustedeyecareohio.com/

Ohio State Senator Steve Huffman, Catherine Ingram, Elect Kristina Daley Roegner, Susan Manchester, State Senator Beth Liston, Mark Romanchuk

03/26/2026

Fact: Expanding optometry’s scope of practice will increase access to essential eye care for patients across Ohio.

Some argue that scope expansion doesn’t improve access, but that claim relies on incomplete and misleading data. Measuring procedures as a percentage of the workforce undervalues optometrists and fails to reflect the total number of treatments actually being provided.

In reality, optometrists already perform a high volume of these procedures in states with expanded scope, where access to care has improved through rapid and sustained growth in treatment availability.

Ohio patients deserve safe, timely access to vision care, and scope expansion is part of the solution.

Learn more about how scope expansion will benefit Ohio patients. https://trustedeyecareohio.com/

Ohio State Senator Steve Huffman, State Senator Beth Liston, Catherine Ingram, Susan Manchester, Elect Kristina Daley Roegner, Mark Romanchuk

03/23/2026

👁️ Happy World Optometry Day!
Today we celebrate the dedication, compassion, and expertise of optometrists across the world who work every day to protect and improve the vision of their patients and communities. Your commitment to eye health helps people learn, work, and live life to the fullest.

For optometrists in Ohio, this year is especially meaningful as we stand on the brink of meaningful progress through Senate Bill 36—legislation that will help modernize optometric care and expand access to the services patients need.

Thank you to every Ohio optometrist for the care you provide, the advocacy you show, and the difference you make in the lives of your patients each day.

03/20/2026

When optometrists are allowed to practice to the full extent of their training, access to care improves. 👁️

After scope expansion in Oklahoma, Kentucky and Louisiana, the number of laser procedures performed by optometrists increased rapidly — with 44–45% growth in SLTs and capsulotomies in the first year alone. Years later, growth continued at 10–11% annually.

More providers able to perform these procedures means more timely care for patients.

Learn more: https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2808445

Ohio State Senator Steve Huffman, State Senator Beth Liston, Catherine Ingram, Susan Manchester, Elect Kristina Daley Roegner, Mark Romanchuk

David Hsu, Simon Liu, Amanda Lu; Dramatic expansion in optometry laser capsulotomy and selective laser trabeculoplasty following scope of practice legislation. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2025;66(8):5773.

03/19/2026

Doctors of Optometry in Kansas will now be able to practice to the fullest extent of their training, as House Bill 2223, their scope modernization bill, was signed into law last week.

They are the 15th state to expand the scope to their optometrists, increasing access for Kansas patients to receive eye care.

Ohio State Senator Steve Huffman, State Senator Beth Liston, Catherine Ingram, Susan Manchester, Elect Kristina Daley Roegner, Mark Romanchuk

03/17/2026

Ohio’s delegation of ODs were busy on Capitol Hill today meeting with Ohio’s House and Senate leaders.

03/17/2026

AOA on Capitol Hill - AOA and OOA past president Dr. Bob Layman and OOA trustee Dr. Dave Bejot met with Marcy Kaptur’s legislative aides today to discuss vision benefit reforms, meeting veterans’ needs for eye care, and ensuring a simpler Rx verification system.

03/13/2026

“Glaucoma affects each of us differently, but one challenge remains the same: limited access to timely treatment…this procedure is something my optometrist is fully trained and educated to perform but cannot in Ohio due to antiquated scope of practice laws.”

Thank you, The Columbus Dispatch, for sharing OOA Associate Executive Director Cori McCabe’s Letter to the Editor on how Ohio patients would benefit from the passage of the Primary Eye Care Modernization Bill, Senate Bill 36. Learn how this bill will improve patient access to care, reduce wait times and meet Ohio’s growing eye care needs.

➡️ https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/letters/2026/03/13/trump-delusion-syndrome-derangement/89117540007/ #:~:text=Let%20optometrists%20do%20their%20jobs

Ohio State Senator Steve Huffman, State Senator Beth Liston, Catherine Ingram, Susan Manchester, Elect Kristina Daley Roegner, Mark Romanchuk

03/05/2026

Thank you to all our members and optometry students who showed up strong in Columbus yesterday for Optometry Day at the Statehouse (ODASH)! 🏛️ Your engagement is essential to protecting, advancing and modernizing our profession.

Throughout the day, members and students connected with their elected officials in the Ohio General Assembly to discuss the issues that matter most to optometry and to the patients we serve.

Our advocacy day was especially timely this year, as OOA leadership also provided testimony in support of the substitution bill for Senate Bill 36 yesterday morning. It was the perfect opportunity for our members to meet directly with legislators and keep the momentum going on the very day the sub bill was introduced.

Daniel P. Troy: A Voice Of Reason, State Representative Gayle Manning,Eric Synenberg for State Representative, Bill DeMora for Ohio, Paula Hicks-Hudson, Elect Kristina Daley Roegner, Catherine Ingram, State Senator Kyle Koehler

03/04/2026

“Patient safety is paramount to this committee and to our profession. With this substitute bill, patients and policymakers alike can be confident that crucial vision care delivered by highly trained and educated optometrists in Ohio will continue to be grounded in rigorous education, strict licensure, and an uncompromising commitment to public safety as scope of practice evolves.”
- Dr. Elizabeth Muckley, OOA Executive Director & CEO

This morning, Dr. Muckley and American Optometric Association Vice President Dr. Terri Gossard stood before the Senate Health Committee and gave proponent testimony on Senate Bill 36, the Primary Eye Care Modernization Bill.

Allowing Ohio's Doctors of Optometry to practice to the full extent of their training is imperative to serve the health needs of our patients.

Watch the testimony: https://ohiochannel.org/programs/ohio-senate-health-committee-3-4-2026?start=660

03/03/2026

Tune in to the Ohio Channel tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. to hear Executive Director & CEO Dr. Elizabeth Muckley and past OOA President and current American Optometric Association Vice President Dr. Terri Gossard share testimony in support of Senate Bill 36 before the Senate Health Committee.

➡️ https://www.ohiochannel.org/live/ohio-senate-health-committee

Ohio State Senator Steve Huffman, State Senator Beth Liston, Catherine Ingram, Susan Manchester, Elect Kristina Daley Roegner, Mark Romanchuk