Dear Governor Inslee,

Americans for Vision Care Innovation, a local and national coalition made up of think tanks and consumer groups, taxpayer advocates and pro-technology voices, representing millions of contact lens and glasses wearers from across the state and nation, writes today in support of SB 5759. This bipartisan, bicameral compromise bill will continue to allow ocular telemedicine in the State of Washington, while providing appropriate safeguards that protect consumers and ensure appropriate use. We strongly urge you to sign this bill into law.

Our Coalition has been working to stop a ban of ocular telemedicine in Washington State for four years and have been very concerned about the possibility of legislation passing that would have
prevented patients from getting their contact lens and glasses prescriptions renewed online and from having the ability to get online vision checks.

We are pleased that this session the optometry and ophthalmology associations, the telemedicine industry and technology providers were able to craft a compromise bill, SB 5759, which has swiftly passed both the House and the Senate unanimously. This bill preserves access to online technologies and allows Washington state residents to continue to use these time-saving innovative
tools to get their vision checked and their prescriptions renewed online, so long as access to and use of them meets the defined standard of care. As the state and the nation face this global pandemic, it is critical that we preserve and protect laws that allow telemedicine.

Washington State is known across the country both for your advancement of innovation in the health arena and for your commitment to sensible cost-saving consumer and taxpayer-friendly legislation. This compromise bill that now awaits your signature will lower costs, enhance choice and increase access to vision care for residents across the state. On behalf of all your constituents who wear contact lenses and glasses, we urge you to sign SB 5759.

Sincerely,
Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Vision Care Innovation
Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Citizen Outreach
Consumer Action
Lens.Com
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) – Washington State
National Hispanic Medical Association
NTU – the National Taxpayers Union
1 800 Contacts
Progressive Policy Institute
R Street
Smart Vision Labs
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO)

Read the full letter here.