Lens.com Urges Consumers to Stand Against Erosion of Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act
Optometrists seek to circumnavigate consumer protections in a bid to avoid FTC enforcement measures
Nov 17, 2020, 22:05 ET
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Contact lens consumers are urged to contact their U.S. Senator and ask them to vote against Senate bill S.4613, a measure that's an affront to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) efforts to force optometrists to treat contact lens wearers the way they are legally obligated to under the terms of the Contact Lens Rule.
In a slick bit of legislative sleight of hand, Senator Boozman's bill S.4613 would make it illegal for the optometrist to ask patients for a receipt making it impossible for the FTC to enforce the law. Only optometrists benefit from this bill, to the detriment of patients.
The optometry industry has sought to restore its grip on American consumers after patients won the right to shop around when buying contact lenses with the passage of the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act in 2003. This act required optometrists to provide, unprompted, a copy of the contact lens prescription to the patient at the end of the contact lens fitting.
In a recent study, the FTC found that as few as 50 percent of eye doctors provided a copy of the prescription as required. This can be attributed to the inherent conflict of interest: optometrists also sell contact lenses. Eye doctors profit from keeping patients handcuffed to their practice.
In June, the FTC commissioners unanimously issued new enforcement rules. To prove that the optometrist is obeying the law, they must obtain a signed receipt from the patient for the prescription, and they must retain this receipt for three years.
"Our customers have continued to report issues with getting their prescriptions from their optometrist," shared Lens.com President & CEO Cary Samourkachian. "This makes it difficult for our customers to access the products they need when they need them, at a price they deserve. We cannot let the optometry industry turn back the clock on enforcement of consumer protections. Call your U.S. Senator and stop S.4613."
About Lens.com
Founded in 1995, Lens.com, Inc. is the nation's 2nd largest online retailer for contact lenses, offering consumers all the popular brands of contact lenses at wholesale prices with convenient quick delivery. The company provides competitive pricing, convenience, personalized customer service, and online eye exams through its easy-to-use website www.Lens.com and its toll-free telephone number "1-800 LENS.COM" (1-800-536-7266). Lens.com is a privately-held U.S. corporation based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Contact: Janet Webster
888-812-9480, [email protected]
SOURCE Lens.com, Inc.
