PPACA Should Include Vision Care, Say Experts

"As states set up their exchanges under the federal health law, they should consider including adult vision benefits, according to the authors of a new study showing that people without such coverage are less likely to seek care," reports Kaiser Health News. "Although the federal health law mandates vision coverage for children, the same requirement does not apply to adults. States themselves can require certain insurance benefits. And researchers from the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina suggest strong reasons for doing so. In their study, published Monday in the Archives of Ophthalmology, the researchers found that more than 40 percent of people in their study lacked vision insurance. They also looked at a subgroup of about 12 percent of people in the study who reporting having glaucoma, macular degeneration, or cataracts — the three leading causes of vision loss in the U.S. About 40 percent of that group also did not have vision insurance. Yet nearly 90 percent of both groups had health insurance." Read more.