15 Sep Tell Congress to Oppose Mandatory Prescription Writing for Veterinarians!
The alleged Fairness to Pet Owners Act (H.R. 3174/S. 1200) has once again surfaced in Congress, but this time, it may have legs, which is why we need your help! …
This legislation, which Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced on July 24, would require veterinarians to provide clients with written prescriptions for their pets, regardless of the clients’ wishes.
Some of the bills’ advocates argue that veterinarians withhold prescriptions to increase profits, but this claim was not substantiated in a recent Federal Trade Commission report. Clients can already ask for prescriptions, and veterinarians should be honoring that request. In fact, the AVMA’s Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics and its guide on Client Requests for Prescriptions states that veterinarians shall write prescriptions upon request, and a majority of states already have similar laws or policies. This unnecessary bill will cause veterinarians to spend excess time on paperwork, likely at the expense of patient care.
Unfortunately, the politics surrounding this legislation differs from previous years. Despite the significant opposition to this bill, some in Congress have expressed an interest in moving it. Should H.R. 3174 pass out of committee, it would be very difficult to keep the bill from moving forward and potentially getting floor time.
We need your help! Please take a few minutes to sign our alert and urge your congressional officials to oppose this legislation. Also, consider meeting with them on this issue during the congressional recess in August when they’ll be back in their home districts.