05/14/2024
Big VA Announcement!
We need your help to pass House Bill HR 8371
Attention: ALL Doctors of Optometry
On May 14th, HR 8371, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, was unveiled. This legislation includes a number of bipartisan and bicameral proposals to reform and improve the delivery of healthcare, benefits, and services at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans, their families, and their survivors.
The bill includes Sec. 142. Modification of pay limitation for physicians, podiatrists, optometrists, and dentists of Department of Veterans Affairs.
This bill would include the reclassification of Optometrists to the VA Physician Pay Scale. We strongly feel that this will help address the national recruitment and retention concerns and allow Veterans the best access to superior eye care.
We've heard you!! AOA and AFOS worked tirelessly for many years to get to this point! Now we need your help!!
As with any legislation, we will NEED your support to get it across the finish line! We need all doctors of optometry to advocate, not just VA optometrists.
You can text VETERAN to 855-465-5124 or follow the steps below on a computer:
Click on the link above to go to the AOA "Advocacy" page. Then click on "Federal". 
From there you will select "AOA Action Center".
From here you will "Click to take Action" and select the "Help VA" option.
You will need to provide your contact info so it can geo-locate your legislators. Next it should open a page with your legislators selected. Please don't remove your Senators because we hope it moves through the House fast and onto the Senate. There is a great template for you to start with.
Feel free to add any additional information such as a personal story or note to the email. Tell your legislator about vacancies at your facility that are impacting Veterans access to care. Or how your facility isn't able to be the strong teaching hospital it once was because residency slots are going unmatched. Or that your excellent colleagues are leaving for jobs in the private sector because pay is so low. Thus, it leaves the facility challenged to find quality candidates.
* If you are not a VA Optometrist, you can speak to the importance of improving patient access and the public good.
Do you have concerns on why it's important for VA Optometry to move to the Physician's Pay Scale? Please click below for more information on the protections in place to ensure you won't get a pay decrease.