Cataract Surgery Insurance
Author: Sherman Winston Reeves, M.D., M.P.H., Reviewed by: Richard L. Lindstrom, M.D.   

Insurance coverage for cataract surgery

As cataract can be a debilitating visual disease, almost all insurance plans regularly cover cataract surgery. The Medicare program, which provides the vast majority of insurance coverage to cataract aged patients in the United States, also regularly covers cataract surgery.

However, the cost of cataract surgery can vary considerably. The main factor in adding extra, usually out-of-pocket costs to cataract surgery is a patient’s desire to also achieve decreased dependence on glasses and/or contact lenses concurrently with the cataract surgery. In these cases, extra surgical procedures, such as astigmatism correction incisions, may be performed during the cataract surgery which are not covered by insurance. Also, if a patient hopes to decrease the need for reading glasses after the surgery, and chooses to have a multifocal lens¸ or the Crystalens accommodating lens implanted, the patient will usually have to pay the difference above the cost of implanting a traditional monofocal lens.

Prior to cataract surgery, it is helpful to fully discuss your goals for postoperative vision and the type of lens to be implanted with the surgeon. Additionally, calling your insurance company before the surgery may help you better understand the extent of your coverage for cataract surgery.