Doctors and optometrists clash in Senate hearing over expanding optometrists’ in‑office surgical authority

Representative Ed Buttrey, speaking in the Senate Business and Labor Committee, opened a hearing on House Bill 218, which would update Montana’s optometry practice act to allow certified optometrists to perform specified in‑office surgical and laser procedures limited to the anterior segment of the eye and adnexa.

“Optometrists are trained and educated to perform these procedures and Montana law is 25 years out of date,” Buttrey told the committee. Supporters said the change would improve access to timely eye care in rural communities, reduce travel for elderly and immobile patients, and allow optometrists who have received accredited training and board certification to treat certain conditions locally.

Doctors of optometry who testified described their education and training — a four‑year optometry program after undergraduate study — and said additional certification by the Montana Board of Optometry would be required before any optometrist could perform the…