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Eye Care Insurance

Many companies offer eye care insurance (ECI) as part of their overall benefits package to their employees. That is the good news, but the bad news is that in difficult economic times many of these same companies will drop their sponsorship of this insurance in order to save on the overall cost of their benefits plan. While all of us treasure our sight as a very precious gift, without insurance many people will allow themselves to go without needed vision exams and other eye care treatments, opening the door to many needless vision problems that could be avoided with proper treatment. This is really no different than the neglect many give to their teeth when there is no dental coverage. But there are a number of eye care plans that are reasonably priced and can deliver much needed care for perhaps our most important sense.

There may be a difference between the term eye care insurance and vision insurance. ECI may denote more medical coverage for actual medical problems with one's vision. Vision insurance may be more devoted to the hardware needs of policy holders such as eyeglasses and contact lenses. This is not an across the board pronouncement, but just something to be considered when hearing those two terms. All of us really do know how important our sight is, yet Christians live by a different standard. They realize that the most important things in life are those things that cannot be seen with our physical eyes. "For we walk by faith and not by sight." (II Corinthians 5:7)

Most policies will cover the following vision issues: discounts on exams, eyeglasses, contact lenses and vision exams. Most vision experts advise to have at least one vision examination each year because many physical problems that may be in their genesis can be identified with an eye exam. High blood pressure, diabetes, brain tumors and other serious physical ailments can be seen in a vision assessment. Many eye care insurance policies will allow exams either by an ophthalmologist or an optometrist. If there is any hint of a serious vision problem, an ophthalmologist should be considered. This doctor is actually an MD who has specialized in vision care. This physician may also be a surgeon who can do surgery on the ocular system and even some neurologically related issues.

The second aspect of vision care that will be covered in most policies will be a big discount on eyeglasses. The policy will typically cover one pair of standard frames and one pair of lenses. The word standard will probably be the byword for most eye care insurance policies. Standard frames for eyeglasses will probably not mean those designer frames by some snooty designer whose name you can't pronounce. And really, who goes around checking out names on glasses anyway?

Most eye care insurance policies will cover single vision lenses or standard lined multi-focal lenses. And depending on the policy, it's possible they may only be glass. Glass lenses are ok because they don't scratch like plastic lenses do, but if a person has a very strong prescription with a thick lens, the eyeglasses might get quite heavy on the face. Some policies may allow plastic lenses with a scratch resistant coating while other policies will make owners pay extra for things such as tinting and no line bi-focals. A standard eye care insurance policy will probably allow one new eyeglass frame every twelve or twenty four months and a change of lenses each year.

When it comes to contact lenses, policies may vary from company to company but a fairly standard policy will probably cover new lenses each year. There are at least thirteen different kinds of contact lenses and most of them will probably not be covered in a standard eye care insurance policy. Contact lenses are made for almost any vision problem. Toric lenses are for astigmatism, prosthetic lenses can cover up eye injuries or disfigurements and bi-focal contacts are for...well, you know. These many different kinds of contacts can be colored but don't count on that option be covered in a standard vision policy. In fact, any unneeded options on any visual correction device will probably not be covered under most eye policies. But the actual cost of eye policies are so low that their yearly price will almost certainly be made up by the vision exams alone.

Some eye care insurance companies will provide at least some coverage for laser eye surgery. This type of surgery, performed in a surgeon's office, can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. With this surgery, a thin flap in the cornea is created using a laser, then the flap is pulled back and some part of the cornea is removed, depending on what kind of vision impairment is detected. With nearsighted person the cornea is flattened and with farsightedness, a steeper cornea is formed and astigmatism is cleared up by smoothing an irregularly shaped cornea. The average cost of laser eye surgery is about twenty two hundred dollars and vision care policies will vary on how much they pay for the surgery and sadly, many policies may not cover the surgery at all because it is viewed as being cosmetic and not necessary. Our eyesight is so important that it cannot be taken for granted through a regular omission of care and treatment that can be provided by professionals. Thus all who are fortunate to have vision policy coverage ought to gladly take advantage of all yearly benefits the policy provides.

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