WASHINGTON—Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, sent a letter today to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to maintain vigilance over competition in the market for contact lenses.

“The rights of contact lens consumers are being repeatedly and openly violated by prescribers who refuse to comply with the FTC’s Contact Lens Rule, which requires doctors to give patients a copy of their prescription so that patients can choose for themselves where they purchase their contact lenses,” said Lee.

“It is essential that consumers be made aware of their rights, and that the FTC vigorously defend and enforce those rights. Our letter also asks the FTC to revisit its now decade-old study of competition in the contact lens industry. There are many concerning trends that deserve attention, including the cozy relationship between manufacturers and prescribers, the requirement for a brand to be listed on a contact lens prescription, and the inability of generic alternatives to come to market. It is paramount that our laws and antitrust enforcement policy encourage competition rather than facilitate kickbacks and create barriers to entry that raise prices for consumers.”

Lee, Klobuchar Press FTC On Contact Lens Market