Medicare Ruling Sets Precedent, Providing Seniors More Options
CMS Assists Cataract Patients with Payment Options for Vision Correction Procedures
For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Rand Eye Institute 954-782-1700.
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — Expanding the number of healthcare options available to seniors, a ruling announced by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provides Medicare recipients affected by cataracts a wider range of advanced vision correction options than were previously available under the plan.
Now, cataract patients diagnosed with presbyopia – a refractive error caused by the natural aging of the eye – can choose to receive a variety of elective lens exchanges previously unavailable through the plan such as the FDA-approved ReSTOR®, and Tecnis lenses to potentially achieve their personal best possible vision.
“We’re very happy to now offer these revolutionary lens implants to Medicare beneficiaries,” says ophthalmologist William J. Rand, M.D., director of the Rand Eye Institute in Deerfield Beach, who was the first eye surgeon in South Florida to perform the Crystalens procedure after its FDA approval as part of Rand Eye Institute’s LIFESTYLE VISION correction program.
Specifically, the ruling allows presbyopia-diagnosed beneficiaries to choose, Restor, ReZoom and Tecnis as an alternative to the conventional IOL lens. Used to treat and counteract the affects of presbyopia, the advanced lens options can potentially result in better vision than the conventional IOL lens could provide. Conventional IOL lens corrects only for fixed “distance vision” and may still require patients to wear glasses or contact lenses following surgery. The available refractive and astigmatism management correcting IOL’s allow patients to see near, far and in between with the potential to reduce dependency on corrective eyewear.
“Because these lenses restore lost vision due to cataracts and adjust for refractive errors caused by presbyopia, they actually treat two conditions at once,” explains Dr. Rand.
Under the announcement, CMS is also offering financial assistance to Medicare beneficiaries, who elect to treat both cataracts and presbyopia with the new lenses. When treated in an outpatient setting, such as Rand Eye Institute’s Rand Surgical Pavillion, a fully licensed and Joint Commission accredited surgical facility, the revised plan assumes partial responsibility for payment for the enhanced lens options, offsetting the cost associated with the advanced refractive and astigmatism management correcting lenses.
“The new Medicare ruling is a breakthrough,” says Dr. Rand. “By allowing Medicare patients access to the most advanced technology, the ruling makes best possible vision an option for seniors. The question is not, ‘can you help improve my vision?’ but ‘which option is right for me?”