Vision Benefits

Vision Benefits More Than Meets the Eye
by Patrick McClelland

The rising cost of healthcare is not easy for employers these days. However, brokers are helping clients find some relief through ancillary benefits like comprehensive vision plans. As workers show increasing interest in vision coverage, brokers are helping clients see how this low cost investment can amp up their benefit packages to attract and retain top talent.
Beyond the cost benefits, comprehensive vision plans allow brokers to offer clients a lot more than what meets the eye. Annual eye exams often lead to the discovery of symptoms of chronic diseases, such as diabetes. This helps spread awareness of preventive eyecare and its relationship to overall health.

How are employers keep-ing employees healthy and maintaining productivity? Having regular preventive care is one of the best ways to stay healthy. Only 16% of American workers have annual physical exams while 61% of those with vision coverage get annual eye exams, according to a recent study of combined data from VSP Vision Care, the Census Bureau, and the National Center for Health Statistics.

Eye exams are being done at nearly four times the rate of physicals for a majority of the adult population. Having an eye exam may be the only time a person has contact with a doctor for preventive care in a given year. The routine trip to the optometrist is quickly becoming more than just the chance to get a new pair of glasses; there is the opportunity to discover clues to detect serious diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetes, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and hypertension.
The diabetes epidemic is posing a danger to California as well as the entire country. The American Diabetes Association estimated that $174 billion was spent on diabetes treatment in 2007, roughly one out of every 10 healthcare dollars. As many as 24 million Americans have diabetes and one in three of these people is unaware they have the disease.

Chronic diseases account for more than 75% of national healthcare costs. So, preventive care, such as regular eye examinations, may play a crucial role in preserving vision and total-body health. Early detection may be the deciding factor in whether an undetected disease alters a patient’s life completely or whether the patient gets the care they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle before a chronic disease takes an irreversible toll.

Last year, the State of California announced that it could save close to $1 million in diabetic management costs just from it’s vision plan. Through a targeted communications program, the state spread awareness about the importance of annual eye examinations. As many as 209,000 state employees and dependents got eye exams and their private practice doctors collected data on their chronic diseases, including diabetes. The vision plan shared all the data with one of three health plans offered by the state. This data sharing effort resulted in identifying more than 180 plan members with diabetes who were not in the health plan’s diabetic database.

Those who were found to have diabetes now had the opportunity to receive disease management assistance and move forward with the information they needed to combat their disease. By identifying these patients with diabetes, the State of California saved significantly in long-term costs. Research conducted by Medco Health Solutions showed that patients with diabetes who manage their disease save employers $4,300 in annual health costs compared to those who do not.

Ancillary benefits like a comprehensive vision plan can help large or small employers maximize their return on health investments. Vision plans yield high enrollment of employees. Also, preventive eyecare helps keep long-term healthcare costs down through early-stage detection and subsequent disease management.

When you are recommending vision plans to your clients, take into account plans that promote the importance of eye health and the strong link between eyecare and overall health. Vision coverage is another great way to keep employees healthy, keep healthcare costs down, and raise awareness of the value of preventive care.
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Patrick McClelland is VSP Vision Care’s vice president of National Inside Sales. Before joining VSP in 2003, McClelland worked in sales management positions for New York Life, Aetna U.S. Healthcare, and Health Net of Arizona.P McClelland is a graduate of the University of San Francisco. He can be reached by email at Patrick.McClelland@VSP.com.