2001CRE1447A INTRODUCTION OF THE CONTACT LENS PRESCRIPTION RELEASE ACT OF 2001
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[Congressional Record: July 26, 2001 (Extensions)]
[Page E1447]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr26jy01-29]
INTRODUCTION OF THE CONTACT LENS PRESCRIPTION RELEASE ACT OF 2001
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HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK
of california
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 26, 2001
Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, today I join with several colleagues to
introduce bipartisan legislation, the Contact Lens Prescription Release
Act of 2001. This bill would enhance consumer fairness in the contact
lens industry by requiring eyecare professionals to release contact
lens prescriptions after completing the fitting process.
Currently, consumers throughout the United States enjoy unobstructed
access to their eyeglass prescriptions. That's because back in 1973,
the Federal Trade Commission issued a regulation requiring the
automatic release of eyeglass prescriptions. Through this regulation,
the FTC recognized that possession of both the prescription and the
product constituted an unfair advantage for eye doctors and that
consumers could safely manage their eyeglass prescriptions.
At the time, it made sense that this rule was not extended to contact
lenses, which were a brand new technology. Furthermore, most were hard
lenses that needed to be ground and fitted to each particular eye.
Today, the contact lens market looks very different. Thirty-four
million Americans wear contact lens and 85% of them choose soft
contacts.
Contact lenses are fast replacing eyeglasses as the corrective
instrument of choice for consumers. Yet despite this trend, in most
states, prescribing eye care professionals can refuse to release
contact lens prescriptions--even after patients complete the initial
fitting process and even to longtime contact lens wearers who simply
need their time-limited prescriptions renewed.
Eye doctors cite health concerns, yet the reality is they have a
strong financial incentive to restrict consumer access to the contact
lens market. Without their contact lens prescription, consumers are
often forced to purchase contact lens from their prescribing eye
doctor.
With contact lens wearers effectively denied the right to receive
their own prescriptions, anti-competitive behavior has flourished. In
fact, the American Optometric Association and Johnson & Johnson's,
maker of the popular ACUVUE disposable contact lens, just reached a
preliminary settlement in an antitrust lawsuit filed by the attorneys
general of 32 states.
The attorneys general alleged that defendants conspired both to force
consumers to buy replacement contact lenses from eye care professionals
only and to eliminate competition from alternative distributors,
including pharmacies,
While the resolution of these anti-trust lawsuits is a step toward
putting contact lens wearers on equal footing with eyeglass wearers,
more action is needed. Contact lens wearers must be assured the same
access to their prescriptions that eyeglass wearers currently enjoy.
Yet the FTC has repeatedly failed to update its rule and extend
prescription release requirements to contact lenses. This does not bode
well for consumers. It means that in many states, people who wear
contact lens cannot shop around for the best value and quality
products.
In fact, this is exactly what happened to my wife back in 1994.
Despite her request, this doctor refused to release her prescription,
but was more than happy to sell her contacts through his professional
office. At the time, it struck me as fundamentally unfair that eye
doctors stand to profit from holding their patients captive. It still
does.
My wife's predicament is hardly unique. Over the past few years,
Consumers Union has issued several reports detailing similar problems
in Texas. A 1997 survey found that 65% of Texas optometrists refused to
release contact lens prescriptions upon request, yet 91% of these same
individuals did not hesitate to fill a prescription released by another
eye doctor. Where are the health concerns here?
The time has more than come for contact lens wearers to enjoy the
same rights as eyeglass wearers. The Contact Lens Prescription Release
Act would require the FTC to promulgate a prescription release rule for
contact lenses paralleling the 1973 rule for eyeglasses. This would
require eyecare professionals to release a patient's contact lens
prescription to the patient after completing the fitting process. Upon
request, contact lens prescriptions must also be released to an agent
of the patient, such as an alternate contact lens distributor.
Furthermore, eyecare professionals must promptly verify the information
contained in a patient's prescription when an agent of the patient
contacts them for such verification. To ensure that consumers are
protected from misleading advertisements, the contact Lens Prescription
Release Act would also make it an unfair trade practice to state or
imply that contact lenses can be purchased without a valid
prescription.
I encourage my colleagues to join me in support of this important
legislation, what has been endorsed by Consumers Union. There is
absolutely no reason for the law to be inconsistent relative to vision
correction by eyeglasses vs. contact lenses. More fundamentally, there
is no reason why any American should be denied the basic right to
receive their prescription, whether they wear eyeglasses, contact
lenses, or both.
____________________