ST. LOUIS—From April 17 to 19 in Washington D.C., AOA’s Congressional Advocacy Conference will convene AOA-member doctors, leaders and students to voice the profession’s priority issues and concerns to nation's lawmakers.

According to the organization, more than 500 AOA doctors and students will work to build more support for AOA’s top legislative priorities, including the AOA and American Dental Association-backed H.R. 3323, the Dental and Optometric Care Access Act, which represents a national counterattack on the anti-patient and anti-doctor policies of health and vision plans, the AOA said.

Additionally, advocates will “educate lawmakers on the importance of S. 2777, the Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act of 2016, which seeks to crack down on internet sales tactics and schemes that deceive the public, risk patient health and add to health care costs.”

Other priority legislation includes H.R. 1312/S. 898, reinstating doctors of optometry into the National Health Service Corps and H.R. 1688, adding new U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs residency slots for doctors of optometry.

Patient health and safety is paramount, yet “unscrupulous internet contact lens sellers continue to undermine the very laws designed to protect patients,” AOA said. Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-Washington)—who penned a letter signed by 36 U.S. House members directing the Federal Trade Commission to take action against such sellers—opens a landmark health policy listening session on the topic with remarks on April 18.

The “Patient Vision Care Safety: Enforcement on Federal Contact Lens Patient Health Laws” session features a critical discussion on the heels of recent FTC enforcement of the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act and introduction of key legislation. In addition to AOA, those participating in the health policy listening session include FTC, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and groups representing patients, consumers and industry.

Visit aoa.org/eyesonthehill for the AOA’s social media aggregator with live updates from the conference’s approved hashtag, #EyesOnTheHill.