Medicare now covers an annual dilated eye examination for all people considered
"at high risk for glaucoma." This coverage began January 1, 2002.
Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, affects about three million Americans—half
of whom don't know they have the condition.
The new benefit defines "High-Risk" Medicare beneficiaries as those with diabetes, those with a family history of glaucoma, and people of African-American ethnicity aged 50 or older. Glaucoma is five times more likely to occur in African-Americans than in whites, and about four times more likely to cause blindness in African Americans than in whites, according to the National Eye Institute.
"Preventive benefits, such as this new glaucoma coverage, help keep people enrolled in Medicare healthy, and improve their quality of life," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson. "An eye exam now can prevent serious problems later, even blindness. It is important that we make taking care of our eyes part of our overall health maintenance program."
"Glaucoma, and the risk of vision loss, remains unrecognized for millions of Americans," says Paul A Sieving, MD, PhD, director of the National Eye Institute. "The expanded Medicare coverage will help people keep their vision, especially those at high risk for eye disease. Once vision is lost from glaucoma, it cannot be restored—the damage is irreversible. Studies have shown that early detection and treatment of glaucoma, before it causes major vision loss, is the best way to control the disease."
The "air puff" test, which measures the internal fluid pressure in the eye, is one part of a glaucoma examination, but the test cannot by itself detect glaucoma. Glaucoma is detected most often (as are other serious eye conditions like diabetic retinopathy) by eye examination through dilated pupils—in which drops of medicine are put into the eyes to temporarily enlarge the pupils, allowing the eye care professional a better look at the inside of the eye.
For more information, contact: Glaucoma, 2020 Vision Place,
Bethesda, MD 20892-3655; web site: www.nei.nih.gov