Main Street’s eye doctors are calling on President Trump to thwart a burdensome Obama-era rule that could force them to hire more staff and spend potentially $925 million just to give patients the contact lens prescription they are already legally obliged to provide.
In a letter to Trump, who has declared war on Obama regulations, the group representing 50,000 eye doctors said that they are being punished because just a few didn’t follow a 2004 law and give patients a copy of their prescription, which can then be used to buy contacts online.
In the letter, they took a swipe at the Washington “swamp” and “deep state” of bureaucrats Trump has campaigned against.
“We greatly appreciate your administration’s prioritization of addressing regulatory burden. Like you, we are profoundly troubled by unnecessary red tape being put in place by unelected bureaucrats. As you have rightly noted, too often these bureaucrats impose anti-business regulations with no vote, no legislative debate, and no real accountability,” said the letter to Trump from the American Optometric Association.
“Currently, the Federal Trade Commission is considering an Obama-era proposed regulation that could add unnecessary costs to tens of thousands of eye doctor practices across the country while raising prices on millions of consumers and jeopardizing job growth in thousands of communities,” it added.
We’re 1 week away from optometry’s single-largest annual advocacy event, AOA on Capitol Hill, April 7-9, in Washington, D.C. Read more: https://t.co/5543gRrF6o #AOAontheHill19 pic.twitter.com/ZiSbouXCVZ
— AOA (@AOAConnect) April 1, 2019
The FTC estimated the total cost to the industry at $10.5 million, but an independent audit put the price at $925 million, or $18,500 per 50,000 doctors.
An industry spokesman said the 2016 Obama rule was sparked by less than 200 complaints from those who did not receive their prescription out of 200 million written between 2011 and 2016.
Another who works in the industry said that the rule is being pushed by online contact lens mega centers who need the prescriptions to fulfill orders — and their allies in Washington.
The FTC has moved to push through the new rule which requires doctors or aides to read a statement informing patients of their rights to a prescription, have the patient sign it, and then keep the paperwork for years.
For small operations, that is a huge burden, said Association President Samuel D. Pierce, whose group recently lobbied Congress on the issue.
“This unnecessary record-keeping burden, if implemented, will mean 50,000 health care practitioners, many of whom are small business owners, will have to add new procedures to their offices, train staff members to adhere to this new regulation, and waste precious patient time that could be better spent on improving health care. The FTC estimates that the new requirement would cost the industry roughly $10.5 million annually and an independent economic analysis estimates that, if finalized, compliance with this rule could cost $18,000 per doctor, per year,” said the group.
