[Opticians] message from OAA

[Tim Alden]

OPTICIANS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION  
TO THE CONTACT LENS CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 2006

The Opticians Association of America (OAA) today announced that it would
actively oppose legislation now pending before Congress [S. 2480,
H.R.5762] 
that seeks to drastically alter existing relationships between eye care 
practitioners ("ECPs"), consumers, and contact lens manufacturers.
In a electronic mail message to the organization's membership Mark F. 
Cloer, President of OAA, stated: "The so-called 'Contact Lens Consumer 
Protection Act of 2006' will have a profound effect on what historically
as
been a cornerstone of best practice eye care, namely the reliance of
contact 
lens consumers upon their eye care practitioners -- ophthalmologists, 
optometrists and opticians - to provide the best service and highest
quality 
lenses available, at a fair price. By requiring that a contact lens
manufacturer 
sell in a "nondiscriminatory manner" all its products to all
distributors, the 
bill would effectively limit that manufacturer's ability to conduct its
business 
as it saw fit,. For example, the bill's vague and ambiguous language
might 
curtail a manufacturer's ability to withhold its products from unethical
or 
inefficient ECPs or to provide volume discounts and special promotional
offers
that ECPs pass along to patients and customers. The end result is likely
to be
higher prices and uncertain levels of quality and service from ECPs who
no 
longer need to conform to a manufacturer's own standards.
Mr. Cloer encouraged all OAA members to immediately contact their U.S. 
Representative and two U.S. Senators urging the defeat of the bill. He 
concluded by observing: "To label this legislation as 'Consumer
Protection' 
is just another example of 'Inside the Beltway' double talk that makes a
mockery 
of the English language. Government interference on behalf of special
interests 
promises to disrupt the existing system of contact lens distribution
that, according 
to a 2005 study by the Federal Trade Commission, currently allows
consumers 
'a wider-than-ever choice of channels through which to purchase their
replacement contact lenses.' Congress should heed the time honored
advice that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.'"
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