Settlement proposed in contact lens suit

By Debra Goldschmidt
CNN Medical Assignment Editor

ROCHESTER, New York (CNN) -- Bausch & Lomb Tuesday announced a proposal to settle an antitrust lawsuit that would include rebates, free samples and coupons for U.S. consumers.

The suit, brought by 32 states, alleged that the company conspired with optometrists, the American Optometric Association (AOA) and two other manufacturers in refusing to sell contact lenses to alternative channels of distribution, including mail order companies.

If agreed upon, the settlement will provide U.S. consumers with rebates worth more than $120 on contact lenses and eye examinations, free samples and discount coupons for Bausch & Lomb products.

Bausch & Lomb did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement proposal.

Kevin McCullum, Vice President of Marketing for 1-800-CONTACTS, said the American Optometric Association colluded to restrict access to lenses. He said his company doesn't feel the settlement "compensates consumers for the behavior of the companies but is glad to see that B&L will begin selling direct to companies like ours."

The AOA told CNN it had no position on the case.

The lawsuit, filed in 1996, cited optometrists for withholding prescriptions from their patients. That meant patients were forced to buy lenses from the optometrist, rather than from an alternative provider who might charge less.

McCullum said consumers could save up to 20 percent on the cost of lenses by shopping around.

Bausch & Lomb, CIBA Vision, Johnson & Johnson (under the name Vistakon), the American Optometric Association, several state optometric associations and individual optometrists were named in the lawsuit.

Bausch & Lomb has proposed a payment of $8 million dollars into a settlement fund for plaintiffs' attorneys fees and other charges. The U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Florida is reviewing the settlement proposal.

CIBA Vision settled its charges in 1997 with a proposal to pay $5 million to notify consumers of the settlement and to pay claims and attorney fees. Eligible consumers received coupons for one free and discounted CIBA Vision product and rebates on contact lenses.

Johnson & Johnson and the AOA are scheduled for a federal trial beginning March 19 in Jacksonville.

Twenty-five states currently have laws requiring the release of contact lens prescriptions. A 1995 Federal Trade Commission study found that in states without release laws, 92 percent of patients who asked for their prescriptions received them. McCullum discounted that figure as too high. He also said concerns that alternative suppliers will misprescribe and cause problems for consumers are overblown.

The Federal Trade Commission has been urged to reconsider laws requiring optometrists to release prescriptions but they have not made any changes to existing laws.

More than 85 percent of contact lenses are disposable. Johnson and Johnson has cornered at least one third of the disposable lenses market.

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Bausch & Lomb
American Optometric Association

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