The AAO, in coordination with the AAO’s advocacy firm Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, secured a bipartisan group of twenty-one Members of Congress to sign a December 6, 2021 letter sent to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) “conduct a study of the federal regulation of Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) advertising practices for prescription medical products.” The signatories also indicated that a GAO review of these issues “will be an important step toward protecting consumers and towards mitigating any potential medical or public health harms that may arise from these marketing practices.”
The letter specifically pointed to mail-order orthodontic treatment as well as mail-order contact lenses as two examples of “recent issues within this industry [that have] aroused repeated complaints and calls for each company to be investigated by the Federal Trade Commission and Food & Drug Administration….” You can view the letter here. Special thanks to Dr. Mike Durbin, MSO Trustee, for his important advocacy work with Members of Congress on this effort as well.
The letter is led by two members on the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. Signers include members of the Energy and Commerce Oversight Chair and Ranking Member, the Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection Chair and Ranking Member, 11 Democrat members, 10 Republican members, 1 dentist, and 2 medical doctors. The AAO applauds these Members of Congress for submitting their request to the GAO and will be monitoring next steps and action on this study.
Be sure to visit the AAO’s new resources designed to communicate concerns about mail-order orthodontic treatment and risks to patient health and well-being found at www.orthofacts.org.
