Medicare :: New Medicare rules may aid those with astigmatism, cataracts

People with astigmatism and cataracts may benefit from a new Medicare rule extending coverage for the new type of implantable lenses that treat both conditions.

Astigmatism, one of the most common vision problems, causes blurry vision due to irregularly shaped cornea. Cataracts cause cloudy vision and are more common as we age.

Cataracts can sometimes be fixed by replacing the damaged natural lens with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens. Intraocular lenses allow ophthalmologists to use one lens to fix both the cataract and astigmatism, improving distance vision and reducing dependence on glasses.

?So we can offer to our patients not only cataract correction with the monofocal lens, but cataract correction with a monofocal lens that will also correct for astigmatism,? says Dr. James McCulley, chairman of ophthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The lenses? FDA trials demonstrated that 97 percent of patients implanted with this lens in both eye didn?t need glasses to see well at a distance.

The new rules allow patients to get the specialized implantable lenses with Medicare covering the cost of the cataract surgery and part of the cost of the lens. The patient is billed for the remaining uncovered costs of the lens and surgery. The new rules are similar to existing rules that allow patients to pay a premium for implantable lenses to fix cataracts and presbyopia, a common condition after 40 that makes it hard to focus on nearby items.

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