Fast-growing online eyewear retailer Warby Parker has said it opposes the law.

       Costco Wholesale Corp., 1-800 Contacts and other retailers have criticized the proposed new law, which they say would weaken a federal law that allows eye doctors to compete with online retailers and discounters.
The US Senate Contact Lens Bill was introduced this week by Medical Senator Bill Cassidy (D-Louisiana) and former Optometrist Senator John Boozman (D-Arkansas) and received support from the American Optometric Association and Johnson & Johnson. Novartis eye care division.
Unlike most doctors, many optometrists make money by prescribing them. They do eye exams and then sell glasses and contact lenses. But since a federal law was passed in 2004 requiring optometrists to write contact lens prescriptions for patients or allow retailers to inquire on their behalf, many of those sales have gone to online competitors like 1-800 Contacts. or discounters like Costco.
Under a 2004 law, retailers must attempt to review contact lens prescriptions but may continue to sell them if a doctor does not report any problems within eight hours. The new legislation says that if a doctor reports problems by phone, fax or email within eight hours, retailers must receive a “positive confirmation” before they can write a prescription. It also requires retailers to provide doctors with a toll-free phone number or email address so they can report concerns.

Costco Contact Lenses
“We see again and again how [ophthalmologists] interfere with issuance,” said Brian Bethers, CEO of 1-800 Contacts.
Stephen Loomis, president of the American Optometrist Association, said the bill would make it easier for doctors to voice any concerns about prescribing medications. If there is concern, the law will stop sales until accurate prescriptions are available, Dr. Loomis said. “It challenges the problem of passive validation.”
The legislation is the latest twist in a long-running battle for the estimated 40 million Americans who buy contact lenses. Opponents of the bill say manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson have struggled to keep contact lens sales in optometrists’ offices because doctors with whom manufacturers have relationships dictate which brands patients use. Contact lens prescriptions vary by brand.
Costco took the win this week when J&J, which owns about 30% of the US market, said it would end a policy that prevents retailers from charging below the minimums set by manufacturers. Last year, Costco challenged the practice in an antitrust lawsuit that is still pending. However, other major contact lens makers, including Alcon and Bausch & Lomb, said on Friday that they would continue to impose minimum prices.
“We are clearly at a crossroads where doctor-patient relationships and eye health are clearly at stake,” said Peter Menziuso, President, Johnson & Johnson Eye Care North America. Mr. Menziuso said the company wanted to focus its resources on “what is of the utmost importance, and that is federal legislation” in lowering the floor price.
Costco said the law would increase costs for consumers and make it harder to buy contact lenses at its stores. Some Warehouse Club offices have ophthalmologists, but about 45% of contact lens prescriptions are said to come from third-party doctors.
Richard Chavez, the retailer’s senior vice president, said the retailer is battling “hurdles posed by physicians who choose to sell contact lenses to our members over Costco.” “I don’t blame them … but the reality is that sometimes there is a better way to do things,” Mr. Chavez said. According to him, the new rule “bypasses the eight-hour limit.”
Senator Cassidy’s spokesman said the law doesn’t bypass the eight-hour requirement because doctors must send a valid prescription if they have doubts about the original prescription. “Vendors always write the exact prescription within eight hours,” he said.

Costco Contact Lenses
Fast-growing online eyewear retailer Warby Parker has said it opposes the law. “If the law is passed and signed into law, contact lenses will cost more and take longer to get,” said Neil Blumenthal, co-CEO of Warby Parker. “We fear that the same factors that make contact lenses harder to buy will have the same effect on glasses.”
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