1-800 Contacts Blasts AOA Attempt to Reform Federal Contact Lens Laws

"Legislation being pushed by the American Optometric Association (AOA) and introduced today in the U.S. Senate would rewrite current law to undermine competition in the contact lens marketplace to increase profits for optometrists at the expense of consumers. The legislation would reduce choice, increase costs and jeopardize eye health," according to a press release from 1-800 Contacts. "The misleadingly-named Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act (CLCHPA), introduced by Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., would gut the existing Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA), which eliminated barriers to retail competition making contact lenses easier to replace and less expensive to purchase. Since the Act became law in 2003, competition among contact lens retailers has provided consumers with more choice, greater convenience and lower prices." Read more.