A traditional major medical insurance policy aims to be comprehensive in nature, offering benefits for a wide variety of care. Whether as simple as a routine wellness examination or complicated as hospitalization or surgery, these health policies help consumers meet the sometimes exorbitant costs of maintaining good health.
However, not even a comprehensive health insurance plan can meet every health concern. A primary example of a need unmet by traditional major medical insurance is vision coverage. While major medical insurance does in fact apply when treating specific eye injuries or vision-impairing diseases, no benefits are offered toward preventative vision care or vision maintenance.
Nevertheless, maintaining health vision is no less important just because it is excluded under traditional health insurance. And because such maintenance can prove quite expensive for a consumer forced to meet these costs completely out-of-pocket, a persistent demand has existed for vision insurance to be on the market in some other form.
A recent study by Reuters Health found that the eyesight of older adults can suffer irreversibly if they do not have vision insurance. Researchers found that those with vision insurance were twice as likely to see an eye doctors than those without such insurance, thus increasing the likelihood of detecting and responding to eye-related diseases (such as glaucoma and cataracts) while they are still treatable. The study argues that vision insurance should be a mandatory component of traditional major medical policies.
While rarely issued as a stand-alone contract, vision insurance is in fact a common and popular component of health insurance issued on a group basis; namely, as a health insurance benefit provided to employees by their respective employers. Vision insurance provides coverage normally excluded under an individual health insurance plan, such as benefits for periodic eye examinations, contact lenses, and glasses (both lenses and frames). In addition, coverage can also be provided for procedures to correct vision deficiencies, such as near-sightedness.
As one might expect, however, limits apply. Generally, vision benefits can only be exercised so many times per year, meaning that insureds might need to pay out-of-pocket if they require multiple lenses, frames, or eye examinations in a given policy period. In addition, vision insurance excludes most optional or cosmetic procedures; this includes coverage for safety eyewear (goggles, lens protectors, etc.), sunglasses, and replacements for lost or damaged eyewear.
The Reuters study found that, of those surveyed, 43 percent had no vision insurance of any kind. Combined with the number of people who think they have vision insurance but in fact do not, the numbers suggest that a remarkable number of people are going without this valuable form of health insurance, which has been shown to have a direct relationship with healthy vision (especially later in life). Those who are only covered by individual health insurance policies should note that their coverage likely excludes vision benefits; those who do have vision insurance would be just as prudent to take note of the amount of coverage afforded to them.
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About The Author: Nathan Rothwell serves as the lead instructor and subject matter for Insurance License Express, a division of Express Schools, LLC. Since 1996, Express Schools has offered online insurance licensing courses and online real estate courses, as well as online real estate exam prep and insurance license exam prep.
Tags: Affordable, comprehensive, Cost, health, Insurance, policy, vision
Source: http://www.insurancelicenseexpress.com/blog/index.php/a-guide-to-vision-insurance/
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