Kansas committee hears testimony on bill to expand optometrists' scope to include certain laser and eyelid procedures

The House Committee on Health and Human Services heard more than three hours of proponent and opponent testimony on House Bill 2,223, a bill that would amend Kansas optometry law to add specified procedures to the practice of optometry and require credentialing by the Board of Optometry. Committee staff said the bill, if passed, would take effect July 1, 2025 after publication in the statute book.

Supporters said the bill would modernize the Optometric Practice Act, expand access to care in rural communities and let optometrists perform procedures they are trained to do. Todd Plesser, executive director of the Kansas Optometric Association, said the measure “modernizes the Optometric Practice Act to reflect contemporary optometric education and training.” He and other proponents said delays in accessing ophthalmologists force patients, often older or with limited transportation, to travel out of town for care.

Proponents also pointed to training and outcomes from other states. Dr. Shane Kennar, an optometrist practicing in southeast Kansas, said graduates since 2017 receive training in the bill’s procedures and that optometrists pursue continuing education to learn techniques they did not receive in earlier years. Dr. Nate Lighthizer, dean of the NSU Oklahoma College…