Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Optometrists Be Part of the National Health Service? (S. 898)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 898?

(Updated June 19, 2019)

This bill seeks to make eye care more available by making optometrists eligible to join the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).


The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is a government program that provides health care, both physical and mental, to individual in underserved communities, usually in inner-city or remote, rural areas. They offer student loan repayment programs to young doctors and health care professionals in order to encourage them to join.


Currently, health care professionals from a wide swath of fields can join—pediatricians, OB-GYNs, as well as people that work in mental health care. This bill would allow optometrists to join as well.

Argument in favor

This bill would encourage optometrists and other eye care professionals to join the National Health Service Corps. It would provide more access to optometrists for people in need. Having eyes that work well is as important a part of being healthy as having any other part of one’s body work well.

Argument opposed

The National Health Service Corps does great work, certainly. But in areas where individuals might be struggling to meet their basic nutritional needs, where they might be exposed to toxic chemicals, their eye prescription is simply less of a priority. How many professions does the NHSC truly need?

Impact

The National Health Service Corps, optometrists, other eye care professionals, and people that have limited access to optometrists.

Cost of S. 898

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: This bill has bipartisan support, with eight Democrats, five Republicans, and an Independent having signed on as cosponsors in the Senate. A similar version of this bill appeared in the House in the previous Congress.


Of Note: The National Health Service Corps aims to provide health care to those with limited access to health care. This often corresponds with poverty—people with low-incomes have a harder time getting health care. Low-income individuals are also more likely to get eye-related diseases. According to the WHO:

“The major causes of blindness in children vary widely from region to region, being largely determined by socioeconomic development, and the availability of primary health care and eye care services.”

Media:

Summary by James Helmsworth
(Photo Credit: Flickr user Plutor)