Lower Eye Care Costs for Seniors

Thanks in part to the support of the Congress of California Seniors, a new law is now in effect that provides CCS members with more medical eye care options than ever before.

As of January 1, 2001, Californians can be treated by licensed optometrists for glaucoma, allergies, infections, inflammation, and non-surgical removal of foreign bodies from their eyes. Optometrists are also allowed to treat these conditions with a greater number of topical and oral prescription drugs. The expanded scope of services by optometrists promotes comprehensive eye care at a lower cost, with better access to quality care throughout the state. The law will reduce the number of referrals to more costly and less accessible eye care specialists and allow seniors and other eye care patients to save as much as 30 percent per visit from the expanded services now offered by qualified optometrists.

Glaucoma is one of the most common eye diseases afflicting seniors–more than 160,000 Californians over the age of 40 have been diagnosed with this serious eye disease. It often strikes without any obvious symptoms and damages the optic nerve. Once vision loss occurs, there is no way for a patient to regain sight. Studies indicate 90 percent of more than 80,000 Americans who are blind as a result of glaucoma didn’t have to lose their sight because that vision loss could have been prevented with early treatment.

California optometrists must undergo nearly a decade of extensive education and hands-on clinical training in vision and medical eye care, undergo rigorous continuing education requirements and are required to maintain an up-to-date working knowledge of the latest medical advancements involving the entire ocular system. California law now allows O.D.s to practice to a greater extent of their expertise, saving individuals time and money. Ophthalmologists continue to be the only eye care professionals who can perform general surgery, therapeutic or refractive laser surgery, and injections.

Optometrists already conduct 70 percent of primary eye exams, making it easy for them to treat patients for eye conditions that might be detected during these initial checkups. Doctors of Optometry are located in more than 1,000 towns and cities across California, including outlying and rural areas, and two-thirds of optometrists hold weekend and evening appointments. Additionally, California optometrists are active participants in the Medicare program. Optometrists say the law is a big victory for consumers who value patient choice when it comes to safe, quality eye care.

To find out more about how you can benefit from the new medical eye care options available to you through your optometrist, please contact Kerry Lee at the California Optometric Association at 1-800-877-5738, ext. 243.