A quality group health insurance plan is the backbone of your employee benefit package. But even the most comprehensive plans have their limits, and therefore your employees might experience some gaps between the coverage they need and the coverage they have. In particular, health insurance plans rarely cover vision exams, glasses, or contact lenses.\r
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The good news is that you can offer your employees a vision insurance plan as an added, voluntary benefit. They can opt in at no added cost to you (if you set it up that way), but will appreciate the opportunity to obtain quality vision care at group rates.\r
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Why Do Employees Choose Vision Insurance? For most of your employees, their benefits package isn’t just about their needs. Their families depend upon these insurance options, too. Vision insurance can cover the entire family, allowing for annual vision checks, and glasses or contact lenses when needed. While health insurance plans generally cover eye exams for children under age 19, spouses are not included, nor are children over 19 who are still utilizing a parent’s policy. Children under age 19 typically have an exam and glasses covered, but you can’t go to just any eye doctor, you must stick to a specific list of providers.\r
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Also, considering the amount of “screen time” most of us are getting these days, we all stand a greater chance of needing vision assistance at some point. Even those who have always enjoyed 20/20 vision might find that as they get older, reading glasses become necessary.\r
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A Complement to Health Insurance. Eye exams can detect more than just vision problems. Often, the first signs of many health problems are noticed by an optometrist or opthamologist. These can include diabetes, brain tumors, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and more. And of course, certain degenerative eye disorders like glaucoma and macular degeneration are first detected by a vision screening. When caught early, treatment can save the patient’s sight or at least slow the progression of the disease.\r
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Increased Workplace Safety. Vision impacts job performance, too. As an employer, you are likely aware of the various liability issues that can exist in the workplace. Regular vision screenings not only keep employees healthy and happy; they could increase productivity and reduce the risk of accidents as well.\r
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Vision insurance offers a valuable voluntary benefit at a comparatively low price. Give us a call to learn more about adding vision insurance to your menu of options.