The latest on AOA contact lens advocacy

The AOA and its partners are confronting the contact lens marketplace, an underregulated frontier where unscrupulous vendors and deceptive tactics pose serious risks to patient health. These problematic behaviors, such as relying on outdated prescription verification methods and substituting approved lenses with inferior alternatives, undermine the doctor-patient relationship and threaten patient safety. 

“Regular care that is supported by appropriate prescription verification is essential to keep patients seeing well and to keep their eyes healthy,” says Renée Reeder, O.D., chair of AOA’s Contact Lens and Cornea Section. “We need everyone to report [Federal Trade Commission] violations. We need to continue to advocate. Together we can keep patients safe and seeing well.” 

Here’s the latest on how the AOA is working to advance contact lens advocacy: 

AOA calls for Eiyan Lens investigation 

In March, AOA President Steven T. Reed, O.D., sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair urging the commission to investigate Eiyan Lens for misleading and unethical practices, which he said pose significant risks to consumer eye health. 

Eiyan is encouraging consumers to bypass in-person eye exams by using an online prescription renewal service—contradicting medical guidance, Dr. Reed wrote. “Their business model is built on keeping patients away from in-person comprehensive eye exams, which are the gold standard for detecting vision and ocular health issues,” the letter went on. “Wearing lenses that are not evaluated on the patient’s eye by an eye doctor can result in a wide range of visual or ocular harm, including eye pain, blurred vision, corneal neovascularization, keratitis, and corneal ulcers.” 

The AOA is awaiting a response from the FTC. 

Hubble Contacts class action lawsuit 

Since 2017, the AOA has been sounding the alarm on Hubble Contacts, calling for federal investigations that resulted, in 2022, in millions of dollars in penalties for the company. In subsequent years, the AOA sent the FTC more than 80 documented cases of suspected patient harm from Hubble Contacts, which attracted media attention and independent validation. In 2023, when a New Mexico woman alleged that Hubble’s products caused her to lose her right eye, the AOA renewed its calls for federal agencies to take “real action” against the company. 

Now, Hubble is named in a class action lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in California. The lawsuit, brought by the firm Michael Sullivan & Associates, is seeking Hubble customers in California to join the class action. The AOA encourages its members with information related to the lawsuit to visit hubbleclassaction.com. 

HCAPS is routing out robocalls 

The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (HCAPS), a coalition that advocates for the doctor-patient relationship and counts the AOA as a founding member, is lobbying for federal legislation that would end the practice of robocalls to verify contact lens prescriptions. Robocalls, used with passive prescription verification, can be used to initiate company-driven substitutions of contact lenses, directing consumers to an inferior product. 

“Robocalls are such an antiquated way to go about doing business,” says David A. Cockrell, O.D., HCAPS chair. “Anything that can be potentially used to circumvent the doctor-patient relationship and the safety backstop that doctors of optometry provide is a bad thing.” 

Despite support from a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and John Boozman, R-Ark., robocall legislation did not advance in the previous legislative session. HCAPS is committed to securing bipartisan, bicameral reintroduction in the 119th Congress. Sign up for the HCAPS newsletter for updates. 

How you can support the AOA’s contact lens advocacy 

Contact lenses are a safe, effective vision correction option when worn and cared for properly. However, poorly fitted or improperly used contact lenses can result in serious eye health and vision complications, which is why these FDA-regulated medical devices require oversight and prescription from an eye doctor as outlined by the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act and Contact Lens Rule. 

The AOA takes seriously its mission to serve not only as a reliable public source of information on issues affecting Americans’ eye health and vision care but also a resource for helping doctors safeguard their patients’ eyesight. Toward that end, the AOA regularly meets with federal regulatory officials to urge that more be done to crack down on dishonest internet and direct-to-consumer sellers, efforts bolstered by informed reports from doctors nationwide. 

Better documentation of illegal contact lens transactions helps the AOA build a case for increased enforcement by federal regulators. Here’s how doctors can support the AOA’s contact lens advocacy by reporting illegal sales or adverse events: 

• Report unlawful sales of medical products on the internet. 

• Report suspicious business practices with the FTC complaint assistant. 

• Report adverse reactions or problems with contact lenses. 

Additionally, doctors are encouraged to complete this form when encountering such issues to arm the AOA with actionable data for regulators. For questions or more information, please contact StopIllegalCLs@aoa.org.