INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana eye care professionals are worried Medicaid cuts by the state could have a negative impact on the health of Hoosiers and end up costing taxpayers more in the long run.

Beginning in July, the state implemented a 5 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement for eye care and vision wear provided by optometrists.

The Family and Social Services Administration, the state agency that administers Medicaid, said the cuts are part of a $212 million "administrative savings target" requested by the state Legislature, 6News' Kara Kenney reported.

Industry experts are upset that the cuts apply only to the state's 1,400 optometrists and not the 325 ophthalmologists, who are physicians and can perform surgery.

"Optometrists are more accessible to Medicaid patients and are able to provide cost-effective and timely care in the communities where Medicaid patients live," said Jim Zieba, executive director of the Indiana Optometric Association. "The Medicaid policy to favor one profession over another really makes no sense."

Dr. Nick Garn, an optometrist in Zionsville, said only 10 percent of his patients use Medicaid, but the state's reimbursement cuts will make it more difficult to accept needy patients.

"I'm a little disturbed in the reality of it," Garn said. "You start to look at the numbers and really consider whether you can still take that plan. Ourselves and others are really concerned about having to drop the plan completely."

The Indiana Optometric Association fears the reimbursement cuts will force the more than 1 million Hoosiers on Medicaid to drive farther for an optometrist who will accept Medicaid or put off care entirely.

"Some people aren't going to get the care, which means the eye conditions they have that could be treated, they're not going to get care until the condition is more costly, then the state is going to have to treat it later," Zieba said.

FSSA spokesman Neal Moore refused to meet for an on-camera interview Tuesday but told 6News the agency is monitoring the situation.

"To date, we have received no complaints or concerns from Medicaid members about any reduction in access to care," said Moore in an email to 6News. "The number of enrolled optometrist Medicaid providers has actually increased by two since the reimbursement change."

Moore explained that the Legislature did not want to make Medicaid rate changes to physicians and that's why cuts were made to optometrists but not ophthalmologists.

When asked how much the 5 percent cuts to optometrist reimbursements would save the state, FSSA could not provide a figure.

Optometrists tell 6News the state simply can't see the long-term impact on taxpayers and education, and plan to make their case before the Legislature in the upcoming session.

More Information: Indiana Optometric Association's Position On Cuts