House committee advances bill to expand optometrists’ scope of practice amid safety debate

The Minnesota House Health Finance and Policy Committee on March 26 recommended House File 10‑11 to the general register, moving forward a measure that would modernize the scope of practice for doctors of optometry in Minnesota.

Supporters told the committee the bill would align Minnesota with many other states and increase access to timely eye care, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Opponents — primarily ophthalmologists — urged the committee to reject the bill, citing patient-safety concerns and asking for clearer training and definitional language.

House File 10‑11 would remove some limits on oral medications and permit a narrowly defined set of injections in tissues around the eye while excluding intravitreal and certain surgical injections, supporters said. Representative Bierman, sponsor of the bill, described the proposal as a “compromise” that is more restrictive than earlier versions and said Minnesota’s scope has not been updated in more than two decades. “This bill will put us in alignment with our neighboring states and the rest of the nation,” Bierman said.

The Minnesota Board of Optometry and practicing optometrists who testified said contemporary optometry education and testing include injectable medications and other treatments that…