Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act

The Act gives consumers certain rights, including increasing their ability to choose where to shop and the right to have a copy of their own contact lens prescription. It also imposed certain responsibilities on lens prescribers and sellers, and required the Federal Trade Commission to develop and enforce implementing rules, which it did in July 2004. The Act extended to contact lens wearers rights similar to those enjoyed by eyeglass wearers for 25 years before the adoption of the Act, especially in relation to ensuring competition in the market.[2]

Under the Rule issued by the FTC, contact lens prescribers - defined as anyone permitted under state law to issue prescriptions for contact lenses, which include ophthalmologists, optometrists, and licensed opticians who are permitted under state law to fit contact lenses (sometimes called dispensing opticians) must give a copy of the contact lens prescription to the patient at the end of the contact lens fitting, even if the patient doesn't ask for it. Prescribers must also provide or verify the contact lens prescription to anyone who designated to act on behalf of the patient, including contact lens sellers. Prescribers are also barred from requiring patients to buy contact lenses, pay additional fees, sign waivers or releases in exchange for a copy of their prescription, or disclaim liability or responsibility for the accuracy of an eye examination.

Some contend that prescribers may, within the law, require patients to buy contact lenses prior to prescribing, thus skirting the intent of the Act. Per the FTC: “’Specialty’’ or custom-made lenses are sometimes necessary to complete the fitting process. To the extent these lenses are necessary to complete the fitting process, prescribers may charge patients for such lenses as part of the cost of the fitting process, and as such may condition the release of a contact lens prescription on payment of the fitting fee.”

Prescribers have expressed concern that they may be liable for defects in contacts provided by a third party. The law does not impose liability for this; liability is determined by state laws.

The Act was introduced in the House of Representatives of the 108th Congress as H.R. 3140. Its long title is An act to provide for availability of contact lens prescriptions to patients, and for other purposes.[3] It passed the House on November 19, 2003, and passed the Senate on November 20, 2003, and was enacted when President George W. Bush signed it into law on December 6, 2003, as Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 108–164 (text) (PDF)). It took effect on February 4, 2004. The Federal Trade Commission's notice of proposed rulemaking appeared in the Federal Register on 4 February 2004, and FTC accepted comments from various organizations through 5 April 2004.[4] Comments received by FTC included contentions over the stipulation relating to the time in which a prescriber needs to verify a lens prescription.[5][6] The final ruling on the law was released by the FTC in July 2004.[4] In October 2004, the FTC released a A Guide for Prescribers and Sellers.[7]

The Act followed a surge in the use of contact lenses by Americans, which had been increasing ever since soft contact lenses became commercially available. The Act also followed a 1997 investigation by 17 state attorneys general that found that purchasers of contact lenses from eye care practitioners had no fewer ocular health problems than purchasers of contact lenses from other sources.

• H.R. 2663 (107th Cong.) Contact Lens Prescription Release Act of 2001; similar legislation introduced in the previous Congress, died in committee.
• H.R. 2221 (108th Cong.) An earlier draft of this law.
• House of Representatives 108th Congress, 1st Session (12 September 2003). "Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the Committee on Energy and Commerce" (PDF). United States Congressional Serial Set. Government Publishing Office (published 20 October 2003). 108 (41) – via Rutgers Law Library: Congressional Documents Online.
• House of Representatives 108th Congress, 1st Session; Committee on Energy and Commerce (15 October 2003). Report to accompany H.R. 3140 (PDF) (Report). Library of Congress. Report 108–318.
• 69 FR 5439 Federal Trade Commission (4 February 2004). "Contact Lens Rule; Ophthalmic Practice Rules (Proposed Rule)". Federal Register. 69: 5439–5450.
• 69 FR 40481 Federal Trade Commission (2 July 2004). "Contact Lens Rule (Final Rule)". Federal Register. 69: 40481–40511.
• Federal Trade Commission (3 September 2015). "Contact Lens Rule (Proposed Rule)". Federal Register. 80: 53272–53274.
• 81 FR 7716 Federal Trade Commission (16 February 2016). "Regulatory Review Schedule". Federal Register. 81: 7716–7717.

• Text of the Act from the Government Printing Office
• "Complying with the Contact Lens Rule". Federal Trade Commission. August 2005. Archived from the original on 2016-09-18.
• A Guide to the FTC's Contact Lens Rule from Lensio, a prescription verification service provider
• Limbaugh, Beverly (1 March 2006). "Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA) [FAQ]" (PDF). Mississippi State Board of Optometry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-30.