The American Optometric Association (AOA) would like to get coverage for regular vision exams into the standard package of benefits that all major medical plans must offer.
Yi-Jhen Li and other researchers recently reported in the Archives of Ophthalmology that people with vision insurance are about 25 percent to 75 percent more likely to do well on selected vision health indicators than comparable people without vision insurance.
The AOA put out a statement welcoming the study, and the authors' conclusion that vision insurance for preventive eye care should be "mandatory in all health plans."
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) calls for regulators to require all health insurers to offer a standard package of "essential health benefits" (EHB), to help consumers compare coverage more readily and reduce the likelihood that some insurers' will try to hold down prices by skimping on benefits.
PPACA requires the EHB to include some preventive vision care benefits for children. The law does not require plans for adults to include preventive vision care benefits.
