Vision Care

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The laws governing what health insurance must cover is mandated by the state in which the insurance policy is issued for a member. Combine the legal state variations along with the assortment of health care plans and it is truly impossible to use a broad description to apply to every type of health plan. Whether or not vision insurance is included in your health plan would be described in the terms of coverage for your specific policy.

Vision Care Basics

Vision insurance is a type of health insurance policy that would cover the expenses incurred by visiting ophthalmologists and optometrists. Typically, vision insurance would cover the costs of annual eye exams and even partial fees for corrective eye wear such as contact lenses or eyeglasses. Not all health plans cover eye care because not all health plans automatically include vision insurance.

When Health Insurance is Enough

Even without vision insurance, there may be times that your health care plan would indeed cover an eye care exam. For example, Diane was diagnosed with skin cancer, a stage 1A growth on her right forearm. In-office surgery was enough to remove themelanoma and cancerous cells directly from her arm. But additional tests were required to ensure that the cancer had not spread to any other part of her body, including her eyes. Diane was sent to an ophthalmologists for an eye examination and in this case, her health plan (a PPO in New York) covered 100% of the expense of the office visit.

Whether or not vision insurance is included in your health plan is determined by the unique policy you hold. It is up to you to review the packet provided to new members and determine if vision care would automatically be covered by the health care plan that you selected.

Vision insurance is typically a supplemental level of coverage to your medical insurance plan. Vision insurance usually helps offset the cost of routine check-ups and can pay for a portion ofaccoutrement that may be required to improve your ability to see. Eye-wear such as contacts, reading glasses, daily use glasses and even prescription sun glasses are commonly covered by vision insurance, at least partially if not in full. In general, vision insurance isconsidered an overall "wellness benefit" for preventative eye care and can be of great value to large families where 20/20 vision has not been passed down from generation to generation.

Vision insurance serves a completely different purpose than medical health insurance. Members of other types ofhealth insurance plans are normally protected against mounting medical expenses that may be a result of progressive eye disease or an unexpected eye emergency. It is important that health insurance policy holders know that insurance typically distinguish eye care as either "routine" or "medical." Depending on the reason for your visit, different health coverage may apply and kick in to help you out financially.

As an added-value incentive to your health insurance plan, vision insurance can help ensure that your eyes are in the best condition possible. Vision health insurance can be obtained through a number of sources such as your employer,associations that you may be a member of, or through a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid.

Regardless of how you feel about your vision, it is important to have your eyes checked out annually. By having regular eye exams, optometrists and ophthalmologist can ensure that you are not in the early stages for something more dangerous. Not only do you need to get eye exams to see how your vision is faring, but proper eye exams can be used to detect diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure in their earlier stages.

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