FRANKFORT—A bill regulating online eye exams and prescriptions offered in Kentucky is on its way to the governor after receiving final passage on an 88-0 vote in the state House on Monday.
HB 191 “permits the use of telehealth and it permits consumers to choose where they purchase their glasses and contact lenses,” the bill’s sponsor Rep. Jim Gooch, R-Providence, told the House in a floor debate on the bill earlier this session.
The Senate amended and passed the bill on a vote of 36-0 last week.
HB 191 would require those offering eyeglass or contact prescriptions based on eye tests offered by smartphone app or online to have the prescription signed off on by a Kentucky licensed medical provider.
Those buying the products would have to be at least age 18 and have received an in-person eye exam within the last two years.
HB 191 was filed in response to a rise in online companies that allow Kentuckians to get virtual eye exams, and prescriptions based on those exams, without input from licensed Kentucky medical professionals.
