R Street Policy Study No. 80 By Ashley N. Baker and Alan Smith - New technologies often present competitive threats to established industries. Incumbent businesses sometimes respond in turn by seeking to use the political process...
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The Government’s War on Contact Lenses
By Eric Peters - Imagine you are shopping for a new car, but you’re forced by law to buy only from your local Chevy dealer. No cross-shopping other makes — or other dealerships. You have to...
The FTC’s Plan to Stop Eye Doctors’ Price Gouging Party
By Wendy Crosby - Imagine starting a business where you had a guaranteed clientele. Sure, your product isn’t the best or even the cheapest, but you happen to have a friend or two in Congress willing...
Contact Lenses May be Easier to Buy, Thanks to FTC Rule
By Howard Ain - Demand for contact lenses has been growing over the past decade and there are more places than ever for consumers to shop for them. A Federal Trade Commission investigation found many consumers...
Fact Sheet: Analysis of Federal Trade Commission Proposal to Update Contact Lens Rule
Highlights: Adds Strong Consumer Rights Provision to Address Repeated Failure of Many Optometrists to Release Prescriptions Rejects Almost Every Proposal by AOA and Contact Lens Manufacturers to Weaken Consumer Protections Undermines Arguments for Anti-Consumer CLCHPA Bill...
How to Correct Eye Doctors’ Vision Problems
By Peter J. Ferrara - No one likes going to the doctor's office, but the American people should be more apprehensive about their appointments than ever before. Apparently, eye doctors aren't seeing 20/20 themselves, even with...
The FTC Moves to Protect Contact Wearing Consumers
By Steve Sherman - The Federal Trade Commission’s latest proposal to change the rules governing the process of prescribing contact lenses is a good idea for consumers. In recent years, a virtual war over the billion-dollar...
Staying Vigilant to Protect Contact Lens Wearers
By Andrew F. Quinlan - Contact lens wearers can breathe a sigh of relief as the lame-duck congressional session comes to an end. Despite their best efforts, lobbyists for the eye doctors have failed to attach...
Lame Duck Congress is After Your Contact Lenses
By Drew Armstrong - As our country gears up for the inauguration of President-Elect Trump, there is a renewed sense of optimism that the executive branch will work with Congress to "drain the swamp" by eliminating...
Can the FTC Write an Rx for the Contact Lens Market, or Is Legislation an Aye for an Eye?
By Ashley Baker - A patient walks into an optometrist’s office for an eye exam. He walks out an hour later with a box of contact lenses, conveniently purchased in-office with the eye-care provider's encouragement. If...