AAO Secures Bipartisan Support for Study on DTC Practices

The AAO secured support from a bipartisan group of Congress members to request a study on certain direct-to-consumer advertising practices.

The American Association of Orthodontists has secured the support of 21 members of Congress to sign a letter requesting the Government Accountability Office conduct a study of direct-to-consumer advertising practices for prescription medical products.

The AAO coordinated with the organization’s advocacy firm, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, to gain support for the letter from a bipartisan group of Congress members. The letter was signed on December 6, and sent to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.

The letter points explicitly to mail-order orthodontic treatment and mail-order contact lenses and 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 and Drug Administration.”

The effort to sign and send the letter was led by two Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee members.

Signers include Energy and Commerce Oversight chair Rep. Diana DeGette, (D-CO) and Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection chair Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) and consists of 11 Democrats, 10 republicans, 1 dentist, and 2 medical doctors.

The letter is available to view online.