Why do health plans refuse coverage for laser eye surgery?

You are probably familiar with the fact that health insurance companies probably won’t pay for laser surgery, even though it does correct vision in farsighted, astigmatic and nearsighted people.

Even though it does help people improve their eyesight, laser eye surgery falls under the cosmetic surgery category. It is with the category that includes breast implants and facelifts. Despite the surgery’s high price tag, consumers demand to have it done – and are willing to pay for it themselves.

Many consumers are becoming interested in laser eye surgery simply because they want to improve their eyesight and because the trend is becoming more and more popular amongst consumers. In fact, that is probably the major reason why health insurers are denying coverage for laser eye surgery.

Currently, the most popular surgical technique is LASIK, “laser in-situ keratomileusis.” This is the most popular procedure simply because that it is considered to be the most effective. It corrects the refractive errors that case the most common vision problems.

However, according to American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), after laser eye surgery, 3 to 5 percent of patients develop certain complications. And if you think that LASIK is absolutely necessary because it is considered to be the most effective, it is important to know that it too has major side-effects that include starbursts and halos, pain, poor contrast sensitivity, ghost images and scarring.

If you think that after having laser eye surgery will prevent any eye problems that might happen in the future, you’re wrong. In fact, many patients will still need glasses, usually during the process of their eyes changing through the normal aging process.

According to Aetna spokeswoman Elizabeth Sell, Aetna U.S. Healthcare will treat problems that crop up after your surgery, but it won’t cover them until all post-operative care provided by your surgeon is exhausted. Before you undergo laser eye surgery, it is highly recommended to make sure the terms of your post-op care is spelled in writing.

All pre-operative and post-operative visits are covered in most surgeons’ fees, according to Jonathan Preiser of HealthCapital Financial Group LLC, a Connecticut company that leases lasers to eye doctors and finances elective surgery for customers.

Preiser claims, “Although American consumers are attracted to the favorable exchange rate, they need to realize they either would have to return to Canada for their follow-up care, or find another doctor in the United States and food the bill themselves.”

Before actually making the decision of having laser eye surgery done, you should do your research, know the side-effects and know what it is going to cost you.