California Considers Marketplace for Vision Insurance

“The California Legislature is considering a plan to establish a statewide marketplace for vision insurance that would be separate from but linked to Covered California,” according to a post on California Healthline. “AB 1877, by Assembly member Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), calls for the state to create a vision care access council that would contract with insurers to provide stand-alone coverage for vision care. The council and its processes would be modeled after the state's new health insurance exchange and would seek to establish links to Covered California.” Read more.

Vision Insurance Improves Chances of Timely Care

"Vision insurance for working-age adults appears to be associated with having eye care visits and reporting better vision, compared with individuals without insurance, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Ophthalmology, a JAMA Network publication." That's a post on Science Codex. "Millions of Americans experience vision loss or impairment due to age-related eye diseases, including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), and cataracts. Periodic checkups are recommended for timely detection of eye conditions to prevent irreversible vision loss. Having vision insurance may be an important determinant as to whether individuals receive preventive eye examinations, according to the study background." Read more.