Regulatory/Legislative News

Chief administrative law judge D. Michael Chappell upheld a Federal Trade Commission complaint against 1-800 CONTACTS, “ruling that the agency has proved that the nation’s largest online retailer of contact lenses unlawfully orchestrated a web of anticompetitive agreements with rival online contact lens sellers,” according to announcement from the FTC.

by Jonathan P. Jarow, MD

Pennsylvania is a beautiful place in the fall. The Pocono Mountains offer a wealth of warm colors that spread out over the rolling hills and valleys of the commonwealth. The population thins dramatically heading north of Philadelphia and, once you pass the factories of Allentown, it is downright remote.

The American Optometric Association has demanded a retraction and apology from Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum for a comment she made on-air about optometrists prescribing painkillers and contributing to the opioid crisis.

What optometric professional hasn’t suffered with patients not paying? Accounts receivable are not always collected in full, and claims are rarely settled due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes patients simply evade payment, and the cost of pursuing them is more than the recoverable amount; sometimes they become bankrupt, sometimes the debt becomes time-barred.

The FDA’s Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee voted favorably on questions of efficacy regarding Aerie Pharmaceuticals’ glaucoma drug Rhopressa.

An FDA advisory committee voted unanimously that Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna gene therapy for retinal dystrophy has an overall favorable benefit-risk profile.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Optometry Practice Act, which expands the number of procedures optometrists may offer to patients, consistent with most other states, according to the California Optometric Association.

The National Consumers League has suggested to the Federal Trade Commission that patients would be better informed of their rights to their contact lens prescriptions through reading a posted sign vs. signing a form.

Optometrists are an important part of the American health care system. We are recognized as physicians by Medicare, and as primary care providers in the Resource-Based Relative Value System for payment and our services are included in the essential elements of the Affordable Care Act.