S 6813: Enacts the optometry freedom act which prohibits a carrier or vision plan restricting an optometrist's choice of supply.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6813 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to enacting the "optome- try freedom act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "optometry freedom act". 3 § 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3246 to read 4 as follows: 5 § 3246. Optometry choice of supply. 1. For the purposes of this 6 section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 7 (a) "Covered materials" means materials for which reimbursement from 8 the carrier or vision care plan is provided to an optometrist by a 9 covered person's plan contract, or for which a reimbursement would be 10 available but for the application of the enrollee's contractual limita- 11 tions of deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance. 12 (b) "Covered services" means services for which reimbursement from the 13 carrier or vision care plan is provided to an optometrist by an 14 enrollee's plan contract, or for which a reimbursement would be avail- 15 able but for the application of the enrollee's contractual limitations 16 of deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance. 17 (c) "Materials" means ophthalmic devices including, but not limited 18 to, lenses, devices containing lenses, ophthalmic frames and other lens 19 mounting apparatus, prisms, lens treatments and coatings, contact lens- 20 es, and prosthetic devices to correct, relieve, or treat defects or 21 abnormal conditions of the human eye or its adnexa. 22 (d) "Optometrist" shall mean anyone licensed to practice optometry 23 pursuant to article one hundred forty-three of the education law. 24 (e) "Services" means the professional work performed by an optome- 25 trist. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07963-01-5 
 S. 6813 2 1 (f) "Vision care plan" means an entity that creates, promotes, sells, 2 provides, advertises or administers, an integrated or stand-alone plan 3 provisioning for reimbursement for optometric services, or an insurance 4 policy or contract which provides optometric or medically necessary 5 benefits to an enrollee pertaining to the provision of covered services 6 or covered materials. 7 2. No contract between a carrier or vision care plan and an optome- 8 trist shall restrict or limit, either directly or indirectly, the 9 optometrist's choice of sources and suppliers of services or materials 10 or use of optical labs provided by the optometrist to an enrollee. 11 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.