I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3140

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

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2003

Mr. BURR (for himself, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. STARK, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. ROGERS of 

Michigan, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, and Mr. GIBBONS) 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.—When a prescriber completes a 

9 contact lens fitting, the 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 under subsection 

12 (a)(1) or (a)(2) or verification of a prescription 

13 under subsection (a)(2); 

14 (2) require payment in addition to, or as part 

15 of, the fee for an eye examination, fitting, and eval16 uation as a condition of providing a copy of a pre17 scription under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) or 

18 verification of a prescription under subsection (a)(2); 

19 or 

20 (3) require the patient to sign a waiver or re21 lease as a condition of verifying or releasing a pre22 scription. 
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1 SEC. 3. IMMEDIATE PAYMENT OF FEES IN LIMITED CIR2 CUMSTANCES. 

3 A prescriber may require payment of fees for an eye 

4 examination, fitting, and evaluation before the release of 

5 a contact lens prescription, but only if the prescriber re6 quires immediate payment in the case of an examination 

7 that reveals no requirement for ophthalmic goods. For 

8 purposes of the preceding sentence, presentation of proof 

9 of insurance coverage for that service shall be deemed to 

10 be a payment. 

11 SEC. 4. PRESCRIBER VERIFICATION. 

12 (a) PRESCRIPTION REQUIREMENT.—A seller may sell 

13 contact lenses only in accordance with a prescription for 

14 the patient that is verified by direct communication. 

15 (b) RECORD REQUIREMENT.—A seller shall maintain 

16 a record of all direct communications referred to in sub17 section (a). 

18 (c) INFORMATION.—When seeking verification of a 

19 contact lens prescription, a seller shall provide the pre20 scriber with the following information: 

21 (1) Patient’s full name and address. 

22 (2) Contact lens power, manufacturer, base 

23 curve or appropriate designation, and diameter when 

24 appropriate. 

25 (3) Quantity of lenses ordered. 

26 (4) Date of patient request. 
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1 (5) Date and time of verification request. 

2 (6) Name of contact person at seller’s company, 

3 including facsimile and telephone number. 

4 (d) VERIFICATION EVENTS.—A prescription is 

5 verified under this Act only if one of the following occurs: 

6 (1) The prescriber confirms the prescription is 

7 accurate by direct communication with the seller. 

8 (2) The prescriber informs the seller that the 

9 prescription is inaccurate and provides the accurate 

10 prescription. 

11 (3) The prescriber fails to communicate with 

12 the seller within 8 business hours, or a similar time 

13 as defined by the Federal Trade Commission, after 

14 the seller achieves direct communication. 

15 (e) INVALID PRESCRIPTION.—If a prescriber informs 

16 a seller before the deadline under subsection (d)(3) that 

17 the contact lens prescription is invalid, the seller shall not 

18 fill the prescription. The prescriber shall specify the basis 

19 for the invalidity of the prescription. If the prescription 

20 communicated by the seller to the prescriber is incorrect, 

21 the prescriber shall correct it. 

22 (f) NO ALTERATION.—A seller may not alter a con23 tact lens prescription. Notwithstanding the preceding sen24 tence, if the same contact lens is manufactured by the 

25 same company and sold under multiple labels to individual 
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1 providers, the seller may fill the prescription with a con2 tact lens manufactured by that company under another 

3 label. 

4 (g) DIRECT COMMUNICATION.—As used in this sec5 tion, the term ‘‘direct communication’’ includes successful 

6 communication by telephone, facsimile, or electronic mail. 

7 SEC. 5. EXPIRATION OF CONTACT LENS PRESCRIPTIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—A contact lens prescription shall 

9 expire—

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

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

12 issue date of the prescription; 

13 (2) not less than one year after the issue date 

14 of the prescription if such State law specifies no 

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

16 issue date of the prescription; or 

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

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

19 based on the medical judgment of the prescriber 

20 with respect to the ocular health of the patient. 

21 (b) SPECIAL RULES FOR PRESCRIPTIONS OF LESS

22 THAN 1 YEAR.—If a prescription expires in less than 1 

23 year, the reasons for the judgment referred to in sub24 section (a)(3) shall be documented in the patient’s medical 

25 record. In no circumstance shall the prescription expira-
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1 tion date be less than the period of time recommended 

2 by the prescriber for a reexamination of the patient that 

3 is medically necessary. 

4 (c) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term 

5 ‘‘issue date’’ means the date on which the patient receives 

6 a copy of the prescription. 

7 SEC. 6. CONTENT OF ADVERTISEMENTS AND OTHER REP8 RESENTATIONS. 

9 Any person that engages in the manufacture, proc10 essing, assembly, sale, offering for sale, or distribution of 

11 contact lenses may not represent, by advertisement, sales 

12 presentation, or otherwise, that contact lenses may be ob13 tained without a prescription. 

14 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN WAIVERS. 

15 A prescriber may not place on the prescription, or 

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

17 or notice waiving or disclaiming the liability or responsi18 bility of the prescriber for the accuracy of the eye exam19 ination. The preceding sentence does not impose liability 

20 on a prescriber for the ophthalmic goods and services dis21 pensed by another seller pursuant to the prescriber’s cor22 rectly verified prescription. 

23 SEC. 8. RULEMAKING BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. 

24 The Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe rules 

25 to carry out this Act. Rules so prescribed shall be exempt 
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1 from the requirements of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty2 Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act (15 U.S.C. 

3 2301 et seq.). Any such regulations shall be issued in ac4 cordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

5 The first rules under this section shall take effect not later 

6 than 180 days after the effective date of this Act. 

7 SEC. 9. VIOLATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any violation of this Act shall be 

9 treated as a violation of a rule under section 18 of the 

10 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a) regarding 

11 unfair or deceptive acts or practices. 

12 (b) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—The Federal 

13 Trade Commission shall enforce this Act in the same man14 ner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

15 powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and pro16 visions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

17 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this 

18 Act. 

19 SEC. 10. STUDY AND REPORT. 

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

21 undertake a study to examine the strength of competition 

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

23 include an examination of the following issues: 
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1 (1) Incidence of exclusive relationships between 

2 prescribers or sellers and contact lens manufacturers 

3 and the impact of such relationships on competition. 

4 (2) Difference between online and offline sellers 

5 of contact lenses, including price, access, and avail6 ability. 

7 (3) Incidence, if any, of contact lens prescrip8 tions that specify brand name or custom labeled con9 tact lenses, the reasons for the incidence, and the ef10 fect on consumers and competition. 

11 (4) The impact of the Federal Trade Commis12 sion eyeglasses rule (16 C.F.R. 456 et seq.) on com13 petition, the nature of the enforcement of the rule, 

14 and how such enforcement has impacted competi15 tion. 

16 (5) Any other issue that has an impact on com17 petition in the sale of prescription contact lenses. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the ef19 fective date of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal 

20 Trade Commission shall submit to the Congress a report 

21 of the study required by subsection (a). 

22 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

23 As used in this Act: 

24 (1) CONTACT LENS FITTING.—The term ‘‘con25 tact lens fitting’’ means the process that begins after 
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1 the initial eye examination and ends when a success2 ful fit has been achieved or, in the case of a renewal 

3 prescription, ends when the prescriber determines 

4 that no change in prescription is required, and such 

5 term may include—

6 (A) an examination to determine lens spec7 ifications; 

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

9 prescription, an initial evaluation of the fit of 

10 the lens on the eye; and 

11 (C) medically necessary follow up examina12 tions. 

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

14 means, with respect to contact lens prescriptions, an 

15 ophthalmologist, optometrist, or other person per16 mitted under State law to issue prescriptions for 

17 contact lenses in compliance with any applicable re18 quirements established by the Food and Drug Ad19 ministration. 

20 (3) CONTACT LENS PRESCRIPTION.—The term 

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

22 issued in accordance with State and Federal law, 

23 that contains sufficient information for the complete 

24 and accurate filling of a prescription, including the 

25 following: 
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1 (A) Name of the patient. 

2 (B) Date of examination. 

3 (C) Issue date and expiration date of pre4 scription. 

5 (D) Name, postal address, telephone num6 ber, and facsimile telephone number of pre7 scriber. 

8 (E) Power, material or manufacturer or 

9 both. 

10 (F) Base curve or appropriate designation. 

11 (G) Diameter, when appropriate. 

12 (H) In the case of a private label contact 

13 lens, name of manufacturer, trade name of pri14 vate label brand, and, if applicable, trade name 

15 of equivalent brand name. 

16 SEC. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

18 the enactment of this Act.

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