Posted on 11/19/2014 11:05:27 AM PST by MichCapCon
Starting next month, consumers nationwide will be able to take a $30 online eyeglass exam and get a prescription from the convenience of their home – but Michigan residents will be left in the dark. That's because last spring the Michigan Legislature passed – and Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law – Senate Bill 853, which bans automated eye exam and eyeglass kiosks.
Although the company offering the online eye exams doesn’t think the law applies to them, the founder said he doesn't want to take any chances by operating in Michigan.
“We're afraid that even if our lawyers give us the green light (to operate in Michigan), the entrenched industry would use this law against us to litigate us out of the state,” says Aaron Dallek, founder of Chicago-based start-up Opternative.
Dallek believes there is no other law like it in the country.
The bill passed unanimously in the state senate, and received only two “no” votes in the House, including one from Rep. Doug Geiss, D-Taylor. Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, said he voted against it because he thought it was anti-free market.
“A person can make the choice. They can understand the difference between this and a full-fledged eye health exam,” he said.
The Michigan Optometric Association declined to say how actively it lobbied against SB 853. According to state filings, it has spent between $19,179 and $25,998 in each of the past five years on lobbying.
Opternative has developed a system of algorithms to perform a series of online eye tests that can measure nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. A group of licensed professionals review the data and provide a signed prescription by a licensed, board-certified eye care professional in the state where the user resides. The company says it will be in full FDA compliance by the time it goes live.
Currently, the primary way consumers get a pair of prescription glasses is to go to an optometrist's office where they would undergo several eye health exams, including a refractive eye exam to measure vision. The process can last 30 minutes or more and cost at least $50. Patients are often directed to in-office optician practices, where they could spend hundreds of dollars on designer frames and specialty lenses.
Opternative markets itself as a timesaving, affordable alternative. Patients can now shop for frames and lenses using a variety of websites, some offering virtual try-on or free delivery of sample frames to try on at home. Dallek believes on-line eye exams are the obvious next step.
“It is the way medicine is going,” he said. “We are using technology to advance and improve the overall patient experience and laws like the one passed in Michigan prevent innovations that allow consumers to make their own choices.”
Dallek said the service does not replace a comprehensive eye health exam and recommends users see a licensed eye professional every two years. Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said he introduced the bill because an office eye exam revealed a debilitating eye disease in his wife.
“Thank God, because it could have caused blindness,” he said. “She had no pain or symptoms.”
Dallek said Opternative is designed to shut down if it senses any eye health red flags, such as previous eye surgery or chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
Tele-medicine has been on the radar of investors. Opternative has secured $1 million in venture capital funding and SB853 was introduced not long after.
“We believe the bill was directly correlated, that it was intended to stop us specifically by entrenched interests,” Dallek said.
The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm that specializes in cases of economic freedom, says Michigan's law sounds like a case of protectionist legislation.
“Too often, we see government regulation that is designed to protect an established business's profit margins instead of the public safety,” said IJ attorney Robert McNamara. “Whether it's established dentists trying to wall out independent teeth whiteners or established funeral directors trying to shut down independent casket sales, public power is frequently used simply to achieve private gain. That's unconstitutional.
“The government can't pass laws just to protect favored businesses from economic competition,” McNamara continued. “Regulations should protect the public from genuinely dangerous things; it shouldn't protect businesses from other businesses who want to give consumers a better deal or a better product.”
On line exam?? Ridiculous.
Don’t like it? Don’t take one.
What’s up with the GOP in MI? I guess we should be glad it even exists, but first the TEsla ban, and now the eye exam ban. Gross crony capitalism.
Long history of this in Michigan. Passing laws to try and hold off job obsolescence. That item pricing law was passed to try and protect the jobs of unionized clerks with ticket guns in supermarkets.
At my last appointment, she said the change was so minimal during the last 5 years, that a new prescription was optional. Also, my cataract change was also so minimal, it would be years before something would be necessary.
So I paid the $30 (insurance covered the rest) and went happily on my way.
Now, chains like America’s Best Eyeglasses and Contacts have offers like two pairs of eyeglasses and a “free” exam for $69.
BUT, what happens when you use or tear your last contact lens only to find out you cannot get a new set because your last exam was more than a year ago? Some time ago, a FEDERAL law was passed that made it illegal to order contacts online (or anywhere) without a YEARLY exam. Too bad if you are on the road and you lose your glasses or contacts.
Basic glasses and contacts, and their exams, are pretty reasonably priced. But, I see no need to outlaw this company. If they are giving out bogus prescriptions, there is an army of lawyers ready to teach them a lesson.
While I understand that eyes are precious and we should all see a real eye doctor at least every couple of years even if we don’t have vision problems, I am also a realist. I realize that people will not get glasses at all (and will drive half-blind) simply because of the prohibitive costs. So really, at least some of the people who use this service would not have had glaucoma or cataract screenings anyway. Also, it could provide a way for people whose insurance only covers every other year eye exams to update their eyeglass prescription every year if their vision deteriorates more rapidly than their insurance can keep up with.
Of course there are people who will use it to save a buck and therefore neglect very important aspects of their health, but I’m not into banning things just because some people will use them to worsen their own health (smoking, alcohol, junk food, large fountain cokes, etc.)
I agree with you 100 percent. Probably the dumbest thing I have ever heard. How many are not going to get their possible glaucoma that will go undetected for years. I think this will lead to increased blindness.
Those who voted “no” are heroes on this.
That's another problem with the on line exam. My doctor has a running record for the last 15 years. During that time, I have only gone to her 3 times for an exam.
If your eyes rapidly change, it's even more of a reason to have a doctor take a look.
Your "logic" doesn't hold up.
Bet there's a great big liability clause to the on line stuff....that's too small to read. ;-)
I had a contact lens emergency as you describe - admittedly because I was late in re-ordering.
And I discovered that my prescription was too old to buy anywhere, including online. But Canada does not have this law...but the Canadian online companies honor US law and will not ship without a prescription either.
I found it very odd. Nothing stops me from buying a ten year supply, so why so strict with the prescription?
And while we’re at it...I don’t go to a pharmacy to pick up this ‘prescription’. Its not anything covered by the FDA that I ingest into my body. Its a device, and that ‘prescription’ isn’t a whole lot different than my shoe size.
Sigh...I scheduled an exam right away and they were nice enough to give me a sample pair while I waited for the others.
“The government can’t pass laws just to protect favored businesses from economic competition,” McNamara continued.
That’s pretty much the purpose of government these days Mr. McNamara.
L
You really think they’re going to read it??
my eyes are not good but I have never been to an eye doctor or worn glasses
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