A compromise has been reached on Ohio House Bill 156 – Vision Care, but it may not be much of a deal after all, says the Union Benefits Trust, the union's dental and vision benefit administrator.
In a memo to the UBT, The National Association of Vision Care Plans informed the administrator that a substitute bill would address the consumer issues the Trust had with the original bill. The original bill would not allow providers to negotiate for non-covered vision services and products, such as reflective coating, something the Trust has spoken out against.
According to UBT, the substitute bill, out today, allows providers to negotiate for those services, but does not require them to do so, giving optometrists the option of whether or not they want to offer discounted programs and services – or not. For OCSEA and UBT, this isn’t much of a compromise.
The Trust submitted written opposition testimony on the original House Bill 156 citing that the bill only serves to raise costs on the backs of the consumer. This substitute bill may do little to change that. Stay tuned to this site for updates. Learn more about your union vison, dental and more at benefitstrust.org