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Prepared Statement of The Honorable Cliff Stearns Contact Lens Sales: Is Market Regulation the Prescription?
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Good morning. I'm pleased that this Committee is finding time to revisit the issue of contact lens regulation - an issue we addressed in the 108th Congress, which resulted in the creation of a public law. Unfortunately, according to some companies in the contact lens market, namely 1-800-Contacts, there remains a problem with regard to how contact lenses are distributed to retailers - from prescribers to wholesale clubs and mail order or internet retailers (the so-called "alternate channels of distribution"). This Committee has a long and distinguished history of addressing market failure problems, but only as a last resort - preferring the invisible hand of the free market to work out inequities over government intervention. At the outset, I hope that will be the case here but I'm pleased to have an opportunity to take a closer look at the issue, including the status of the 1996 consent decree, and on the alleged evidence of market failure. Therefore, I welcome the opportunity to hear the testimony before us this morning. With over 36 million Americans wearing some form of contact lens, this is no small issue. There are essentially two types of mass-marketed lenses for consumer purchase - those distributed exclusively to eye care professionals by a contact lens manufacturer and those distributed freely to all retailers, including eye care professionals and "aftercare providers" like 1-800-Contacts. The concerns precipitating this hearing arose because of those few manufacturers, namely CooperVision, that sell their lens exclusively to eye care professionals. Aftercare providers feel that such arrangements limit competition and harm consumers. It is important to note that the Federal Trade Commission conducted a study in 2005, as required by legislation passed by this Committee, and concluded there was no market failure in the industry. The FTC found exclusive manufacturer-retailer relationships pose no threat to competition nor harm consumers. I look forward to the FTC elaborating on those findings today and commenting on the specific case before us. Because I am not resigned to a conclusion at this point, my primary goal in holding this hearing is to walk out of this room with a clear understanding of the actual problem and how the legislation introduced and referred to this Subcommittee will solve it. I also want to be certain that by solving an alleged commercial problem, we are not, in turn, creating a health-related problem. Prescription verification is a very important component of doctor-patient-seller interaction in this area, and I want to understand better how aftercare providers like 1-800-Contacts handle that function. Again, I thank everyone for joining us this morning and I look forward to the testimony of this distinguished panel. Thank you.
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