April - Missouri Optometric Association

April 2010
P r e s i d e n t’s Message
I had the pleasure last week of delivering a 60 year AOA membership
plaque to Dr. Harvey Rider of St Joseph. It was an honor to meet Dr.
Rider, and it gave me an opportunity to think about the history of our
great profession and to consider what optometry will look like when I’ve
been an AOA member for 60 years.
The AOA and your MOA have been a resilient, progressive and eager
voice for us for many years. Your participation, whether passive or
engaged, allows you to dilate patient’s eyes with diabetes, prescribe
relief for allergic conjunctivitis, manage the healing after cataract
surgery, or remove a piece of metal from a cornea, and on and on. If you are reading this, you
were likely involved in the battles and fundraising it takes to make these things happen. We
continue to work very hard to make the future as bright as our past.
Ryan Powell, O.D.
MOA President
We are working very hard to make sure that Missouri Medicaid compensates the same service
equally regardless of the letters after the licensed provider’s name. We have to continue to
defend and promote the value of the diploma on your wall.
Cuts in Medicare have a dramatic effect on our members. Our work in Washington DC and
with local leaders is very important. We are optimistic that a new formula will settle much of the
uncertainty so that we can continue to care for our patients. As of this writing, the dust has not
settled on whether Congress will postpone the 21% cuts, but we are optimistic.
Take a moment today to be thankful for the gift we have in being optometrists and enjoy this
wonderful time of the year. I look forward to seeing all the MOA volunteers at the Leadership
Retreat at the lake June 4th-5th as we plan for the future.
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