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108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2221

To provide for availability of contact lens prescriptions to patients, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 22, 2003

Mr. BURR (for himself, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, and Mr. MATHESON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To provide for availability of contact lens prescriptions to

patients, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness to Contact

5 Lens Consumers Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF CONTACT LENS PRESCRIPTIONS

7 TO PATIENTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon completion of a contact lens

9 fitting, a prescriber—
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1 (1) whether or not requested by the patient,

2 shall provide to the patient a copy of the contact

3 lens prescription; and

4 (2) shall, as directed by any person designated

5 to act on behalf of the patient, provide or verify the

6 contact lens prescription by electronic or other

7 means.

8 (b) LIMITATIONS.—A prescriber may not—

9 (1) require purchase of contact lenses from the

10 prescriber or from another person as a condition of

11 providing a copy of a prescription or verification of

12 a prescription under subsection (a);

13 (2) require payment in addition to the examina14 tion fee as a condition of providing a copy of a pre15 scription or verification of a prescription under sub16 section (a); or

17 (3) require the patient to sign a waiver or re18 lease as a condition of verifying or releasing a pre19 scription.

20 SEC. 3. EXPIRATION OF CONTACT LENS PRESCRIPTIONS.

21 A contact lens prescription shall expire—

22 (1) on the date specified by the law of the State

23 involved, if that date is one year or more after the

24 issue date of the prescription;
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1 (2) not less than one year after the issue date

2 of the prescription if such State law specifies no

3 date or a date that is less than one year after the

4 issue date of the prescription; or

5 (3) notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), on

6 the date specified by the prescriber, if that date is

7 based on the medical judgment of the prescriber

8 with respect to the ocular health of the patient.

9 SEC. 4. CONTENT OF ADVERTISEMENTS AND OTHER REP10 RESENTATIONS.

11 Any person that engages in the manufacture, proc12 essing, assembly, sale, offering for sale, or distribution of

13 contact lenses may not represent, by advertisement, sales

14 presentation, or otherwise, that contact lenses may be ob15 tained without a prescription.

16 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN WAIVERS.

17 A prescriber may not place on the prescription, or

18 require the patient to sign, or deliver to the patient a form

19 or notice waiving or disclaiming the liability or responsi20 bility of the prescriber for the accuracy of the eye exam21 ination.

22 SEC. 6. VIOLATIONS.

23 Any violation of this Act shall be treated as a viola24 tion of a rule under section 18 of the Federal Trade Com-
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1 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a) regarding unfair or deceptive

2 acts or practices.

3 SEC. 7. STUDY AND REPORT.

4 (a) STUDY.—The Federal Trade Commission shall

5 undertake a study to examine the strength of competition

6 in the sale of prescription contact lenses. The study shall

7 include an examination of the following issues:

8 (1) The States that have laws that require ac9 tive or passive verification for the sale of contact

10 lenses.

11 (2) With respect to the States that require ac12 tive verification, the practices of prescribers in com13 plying with State law, the effect of noncompliance,

14 and the harm to competition and consumers that re15 sults from noncompliance.

16 (3) With respect to the States that require ac17 tive verification, the level of enforcement and any

18 problems relating to enforcement.

19 (4) The impact on competition of verification

20 standards adopted by retail sellers of prescription

21 contact lenses.

22 (5) With respect to States that require passive

23 verification or have no applicable verification laws,

24 the possible effect of such laws or lack thereof on

25 the ocular health of patients. In addition, the effect
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1 of such laws or lack thereof on compliance by sellers

2 in confirming valid contact lens prescriptions, includ3 ing expiration dates. The Commission shall consult

4 the Food and Drug Administration on this par5 ticular issue.

6 (6) The incidence, if any, of contact lens pre7 scriptions that specify brand name or custom labeled

8 contact lenses, the reasons for the incidence, and the

9 effect on consumers and competition.

10 (7) Any other issue that has an impact on com11 petition in the sale of prescription contact lenses.

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after the date

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal

14 Trade Commission shall submit to the Congress a report

15 of the study required by subsection (a).

16 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

17 As used in this Act:

18 (1) CONTACT LENS FITTING.—The term ‘‘con19 tact lens fitting’’ means the process that begins after

20 the initial eye examination and ends when the pre21 scriber is satisfied that a successful fit has been

22 achieved or, in the case of a renewal prescription,

23 ends when the prescriber determines that no change

24 in prescription is required, and such term may

25 include—
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1 (A) an examination to determine lens spec2 ifications;

3 (B) except in the case of a renewal of a

4 prescription, an initial evaluation of the fit of

5 the lens on the eye; and

6 (C) medically necessary followup examina7 tions.

8 (2) PRESCRIBER.—The term ‘‘prescriber’’

9 means, with respect to contact lens prescriptions, an

10 ophthalmologist, optometrist, or other person per11 mitted under State law to issue prescriptions for

12 contact lenses in compliance with any applicable re13 quirements established by the Food and Drug Ad14 ministration.

15 (3) CONTACT LENS PRESCRIPTION.—The term

16 ‘‘contact lens prescription’’ means a prescription,

17 issued in accordance with State and Federal law,

18 that contains the specifications necessary for a pa19 tient to obtain contact lenses and may include such

20 items as the following:

21 (A) The name of the patient.

22 (B) The date of the examination.

23 (C) The issue date and the expiration date

24 of the prescription.
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1 (D) A clear notation contact lenses are

2 suitable for the patient.

3 (E) The parameters and instructions that

4 are necessary for manufacture and duplication

5 of the lenses.

6 (F) The name, postal address, telephone

7 number, and facsimile telephone number of the

8 prescriber.

9 (G) The expiration date of the prescrip10 tion.

11 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

12 This Act shall take effect 60 days after the date of

13 the enactment of this Act.

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