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Over in the US a new study has been arguing that eye and vision heath should become compulsory parts of health insurance policies. They further added that older adults' eyesight may irreversibly suffer if they did not hold a policy.
It was found that adults between the ages of 40 and 65 years old with vision insurance were twice as likely seek out an examination of their eyes compared to those without cover.
The study findings are that by owning a health insurance policy with vision care included, increased the likelihood of an eye care visit, and that a prior-year eye care visit is associated with better vision status.
It was noted that an estimated 5.6 million Americans will have an age-related eye disease that may lead to vision loss by the year 2020.However the threat of permanent vision loss from diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma can be held back with earlier treatment and detection.
The problem from a public health point of view is, " what was denying people from getting access to care? A survey of 27,152 people from across eight U.S. states was used. Of those, 43 percent, did not have any kind of vision insurance.
Of the 15,611 people who did have vision insurance, about 64 percent had seen an eye doctor in the previous year, compared to about 45 percent of people without coverage.
The difference was even greater among a subsample of adults who had common eye ailments like glaucoma, cataracts or age-related macular degeneration . Those with vision insurance were 37 percent more likely to say they could read and 45 percent were more likely to recognize a friend from afar.
In both the general population and those with eye diseases, people who saw a doctor within the past year were also more likely to report better vision.