Cost Eye Care Costs Inched Up Last Year

Consumer costs related to eye care increased less than costs for any other health care service or related cost during 2012, reports the American Optometric Assn. (AOA). The Eyeglasses and Eye Care Services Index, compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), increased a mere 0.3 percent during 2012. That was well under last year’s overall inflation rate of 1.7 percent and a fraction of the 3.2 percent increase posted for health care costs overall during 2012, according to BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. AOA notes that virtually every year since the government first began tracking them, increases in patient charges related to eye care have trailed both the overall inflation rate and increases in charges related to most other health care services. Prices for eyewear and professional fees for eye care increased 0.7 percent in 2011. The overall inflation rate was 3 percent that year. Read more.