More than 170 million Americans obtain managed-vision care from members of the. NAVCP. The organization is the leading advocacy group for managed vision care providers and serves as a representative lobby for the industry at the federal and state level. As part of its mission to support legislation that improves consumer access to vision care coverage, the NAVCP backs exemptions to certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act for vision care plans, including “network adequacy.”
In the ACA, network adequacy is defined as a minimum number of in-network health care providers within a specific geographic location. This ensures that consumers can receive timely care without traveling a great distance.
However, the NAVCP argues that the provider and treatment limitations of vision care coverage make achieving network adequacy an undue burden for vision care plan providers. Additionally, since vision care plans cover only routine annual exams and eyewear prescriptions,, the NAVCP maintains that it is impractical to apply the same time and distance limits as those for emergency or ongoing medical care.