Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act

Bill: 116-hr-3975
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1]
Introduced: 2019-07-25
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Consumer affairs

Health information and medical records

Hearing, speech, and vision care

Retail and wholesale trades

Right of privacy

Telephone and wireless communication
Latest action: action_date: 2019-07-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-07-25
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act</b><br> <br> This bill revises the requirements for the verification of prescriptions related to the purchase of contact lenses. Specifically, online sellers of prescription contact lenses must provide consumers with a method to transmit a digital copy of their prescriptions to such sellers. Online sellers also must encrypt protected health information they send by email.<br> <br> Additionally, the bill prohibits any seller of prescription contact lenses from using telephone calls with an artificial or prerecorded voice (i.e., robocalls) to verify a consumer's prescription.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3975 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 25, 2019 Mr. Rush (for himself and Mr. Burgess ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act to modernize verification of contact lens prescriptions, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act . 2. Amendments Section 4 of the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act ( 15 U.S.C. 7603 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; (B) by moving such redesignated subparagraphs 2 ems to the right; (C) by striking A seller may and inserting (1) Sellers generally. —A seller may ; and (D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (2) Online sellers An online seller of contact lenses shall provide a method that enables an individual to electronically transmit, in accordance with HIPAA privacy regulation (as defined in section 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1320d–9(b)(3) )), a copy of a contact lens prescription for such individual. (3) Encryption required Any protected health information (as defined for purposes of the HIPAA privacy regulation) that an online seller sends pursuant to this section by email shall be encrypted. ; (2) in subsection (c)(6), by striking and telephone number and inserting the following: , telephone number, and email address ; and (3) in subsection (g), by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: but does not include a call made using an artificial or prerecorded voice. .