Pryor seeks to improve access to eye care for rural families

U.S. Senator Mark Pryor introduced legislation to improve access to eye care services for rural families by allowing optometrists to participate in a student loan repayment program.

“Eye doctors often graduate with a mountain of student loan debt, forcing them to work in private practice or urban communities.” Pryor said. “This legislation opens the opportunity for an optometrist to fill a real need. With on-site vision services at community health centers, children in Arkansas are more likely to receive proper eye care, be able to see the blackboard in the classroom and do better in school as a result.”

Pryor said many families delay or do without vision services until their conditions become emergencies because they don’t have the money for a visit to the eye doctor. Of nationwide community health centers, only 11 percent have a full-time eye care professional on staff and less than 30 percent offer any on-site vision services.

Community health advocates and optometrist associations believe more eye doctors would work in underserved areas if they could participate in the already established student loan forgiveness and scholarship program for health care providers. The National Health Service Corps Improvement Act would allow optometrists to compete with other health care professionals for loan repayment and scholarship support. Similar legislation, H.R. 1195, has been introduced in the House of Representatives.

“With the recognition that primary eye care is a critical component in the health care delivery system, but not often found in underserved communities, Senator Pryor’s legislation will expand the list of eligible health care providers who may apply for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment and Scholarships. Once enacted, optometrists will be eligible to apply for NHSC loan repayment, and in return, will pay back those loans by providing primary eye care in underserved and rural communities,” said Sip Mouden, CEO of Community Health Centers of Arkansas, Inc.

"Senator Pryor is committed to ensuring that all Arkansans and Americans in medically underserved areas, including our seniors, veterans and children, are able to get the essential eye health and vision services they need and deserve," said Audie Teague O.D., member of the Arkansas Optometric Association. "Optometrists in our state and across the country are proud of Senator Pryor's strong leadership on health care access issues, and are ready to meet the challenge to get quality care where it is needed most. This legislation provides yet another example of Senator Pryor working to make government more efficient and effective. By fixing the law and making our best and brightest young doctors eligible for National Health Service Corps, the Pryor bill is good news for Arkansas families."