Do you wear glasses, contacts, or do you have a family history of poor vision or eye problems?
Then you need to make sure that you have appropriate vision insurance or vision coverage.
Even if you don’t need glasses or contacts at the moment, you never know what might happen in the future and it is better to be covered now than worry about covering the costs if you have eyesight or vision problems later.
It is also important to understand vision insurance and the various options if you are an employer who provides group health insurance and other health care benefits.
Do you own a business and provide a group health insurance plan?
You may want to consider providing vision insurance as well.
While you are not mandated to provide vision coverage for your employees, it can be an enticing benefit that will attract better talent to your company, help improve your employee retention rate, and decrease staff turnover.
What is Vision Insurance?
Vision insurance is a health care plan that typically covers glasses, contacts, eye exams, and other needs related to vision and eyesight.
Most vision insurance covers routine preventative eye care such as eye exams as well as prescription glasses (including add-ons like scratch resistant surfaces) and contact lenses.
Some plans even cover daily disposable contact lenses as well.
In addition, some vision insurance plans include discounted costs on elective correction eye surgeries like LASIK or PRK treatments for qualifying policyholders.
If your employer doesn’t offer vision insurance, you may be able to purchase supplemental vision insurance as an individual plan.
Note that vision insurance is different from a vision discount plan.
A vision discount plan is cheaper but it only includes discounted vision care and eyewear costs, so the coverage isn’t as complete.
Why Do You Need Vision Insurance?
The role of vision insurance is to reduce the cost of your eye care.
At the moment, 66 percent of Americans over the age of eighteen wear glasses or contact lenses, or both.
Accordingly, carrying vision insurance or even getting a vision discount plan may be a wise financial decision, especially if you have a particularly costly prescription or regularly need new glasses or contacts.
If you are an employer who offers health care coverage to your staff, consider adding the option for vision insurance as well.
Additional insurance coverage is a major employee benefit that helps attract and retain the best talent in your field or industry vertical.
Does Medicare Cover Vision?
Medicare Part A does not cover vision, so if you are on the Medicare Part A program, you will need additional or supplemental vision insurance.
However, Medicare Part B does cover eye exams and other vision coverage, but only if you are at a high risk for glaucoma or if you have diabetes.
What Other Types of Insurance Are Related to Vision Insurance?
Health insurance (both group plans and individual plans) and dental insurance coverage are related to vision insurance.
Employer plans may offer health insurance bundled together with dental and vision, with the option to opt into or out of the latter two kinds of insurance or to otherwise choose the amount or type of vision coverage you require.
If you are a business or an individual, contact an ASCO insurance agent to find the best vision insurance policy for you.
