Cataract surgery ?

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Hangfire

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Don't know about private insurance, but Medicare won't pay for it. Doc told me $1K per eye to correct the vision, and they could fix astigmatism for another thousand bucks per eye.



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@DRC458 I sure hope that you are wrong about Medicare not paying for cataract surgery.

I was told by my surgeon, my referring eye doc, their office managers and the gal at the opticians office today that Medicare does cover cataract surgery as well as one pair of new glasses (free lenses plus $60.00 towards new frames) after the surgery.......maybe a call directly to Medicare would settle the contradicting information.

I've also got a BCBS 'F' supplement that covers everything that Medicare doesn't and I've yet to pay a dime for anything that Medicare hasn't covered.....'F' is a fairly expensive supplement but with what I've had going on medically the past five years since retiring I've more than got my moneys worth.
 

Mad Professor

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@DRC458 I sure hope that you are wrong about Medicare not paying for cataract surgery.

I was told by my surgeon, my referring eye doc, their office managers and the gal at the opticians office today that Medicare does cover cataract surgery as well as one pair of new glasses (free lenses plus $60.00 towards new frames) after the surgery.......maybe a call directly to Medicare would settle the contradicting information.

That’s my understanding also. They will cover the basic lens but not extra cost optional lens or refractive correction options of the surgery. Pretty much the same with my insurance carrier , BCBS.
 

TerryMiller

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My cataract surgery was in 2013, so I don't know if things have changed, but when mine was done, Medicare paid for the surgery, but I had to pay extra for the lenses. I have astigmatism pretty bad in the right eye, so the lens there is designed for focusing anywhere from a foot or two up to about 5 or 6 feet. The lens in the left eye is also a special lens in that it has a "flexing" part of it that works like a membrane moving back and forth. (Don't ask me to explain that.) That eye is for long distance.

Basically, the brain is a marvelous thing in that it compensates with the two eyes being focused differently, but still giving one clear vision.

I don't remember having to do eye drops so much, but I did a number of times a day, but the drops weren't really expensive. I also don't remember there being any prescription medicine, except perhaps for a pain med that I never needed. I do have reading glasses, but the main time I need to use them is when reading text with some low or kind-of funky lighting. Never had a need for an eye patch.

However, the wife sure got tired of doing all the driving, especially with me being a "passenger-seat driver."
 

Aries

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I believe they were talking about the upgraded corrective lenses. I'm pretty sure basic cataract surgery is covered by medicare and most medical insurance policies. I could be wrong in some cases.
 

Swingwing

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I had mine done in 2000, both eyes a month apart. I chose to have the multifocal lense implants which have worked very well. Still no glasses. Like someone said earlier, I had no idea I had lost so much vision., and the colors really popped after everything cleared up, which was only a few days for each eye. About four months the doc did the laser blast on the clouded membrane left behind the lense. So far twenty years and still good to go.

Good luck on your remaining surgery.
 

SoonerP226

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I ask her who she recommended and she said Dr. Kimberly Wise here in Norman who ends up only being about two miles from home and I ask her to go ahead set up the appointment.....I got a call Monday from Wise's office and had my exam and consultation with her yesterday.
I know this is a bit late (seeing as how you've already had one eye done), but Dr. Wise is good to go. Dr. Woodward (one of the founders of the practice she now owns) was my ophthalmologist for years, and when I asked him about LASIK, he brought her in to see me. We went through all the counseling and prep, then she sent me to Dean McGee for imagery of my eyeballs. After seeing that, she told me that the numbers didn't line up, which meant that lasik probably wouldn't correct my vision. As a result, although I could probably find a place that would perform the procedure, she wouldn't, and she would strongly recommend against having it done.

She was also the one who explained that lasik is not considered a surgical procedure under Oklahoma law, which means that it can be performed by technicians instead of requiring an actual surgeon, and most of the horror stories about lasik involved technicians performing the procedure. (This was almost 20 years ago, so that may have changed.)

The only reason I didn't end up as one of her patients when Dr. Woodward retired was that she was (and probably still is) very busy doing surgeries, and it was easier to get in to see one of the other doctors in the practice.
 

DRC458

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@DRC458 I sure hope that you are wrong about Medicare not paying for cataract surgery.

That’s my understanding also. They will cover the basic lens but not extra cost optional lens or refractive correction options of the surgery. Pretty much the same with my insurance carrier , BCBS.

NO! NO! NO! NO! Apparently, I was unclear. Medicare most definitely WILL cover cataract surgery. They will NOT cover the additional cost of the lenses to correct your vision to 20/20 or to correct astigmatism. My apologies!
I, too, have a Plan F. The only thing I have paid for so far is the eye drops, and my Part D did not pay any of that cost ... it was all out of pocket.


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Mad Professor

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NO! NO! NO! NO! Apparently, I was unclear. Medicare most definitely WILL cover cataract surgery. They will NOT cover the additional cost of the lenses to correct your vision to 20/20 or to correct astigmatism. My apologies!
I, too, have a Plan F. The only thing I have paid for so far is the eye drops, and my Part D did not pay any of that cost ... it was all out of pocket.


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NO! NO! NO! NO! Apparently, I was unclear. Medicare most definitely WILL cover cataract surgery. They will NOT cover the additional cost of the lenses to correct your vision to 20/20 or to correct astigmatism. My apologies!
I, too, have a Plan F. The only thing I have paid for so far is the eye drops, and my Part D did not pay any of that cost ... it was all out of pocket.


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Thanks, that is in line with what I was told and saw sometime back. I’ve been told that I am in the beginning stages of cataract formation in both eyes. With at least 4 different types of lenses available, combinations of those lenses, and combining the lens with corrective surgery, there is quite a bit to be considered. From what I remember, the optional parts can run from $1000-3500 per eye.

I have so many eye issues, I feel I’m very fortunate to be able to cope with it using contact lenses. Even corrective surgery is unlikely to bring the sight I have now with contact lenses. When my cataracts progress to the point removal is my natural lens is necessary, I’m hopeful the entire solution will be something as good or better than what I experience now.
 

DavidMcmillan

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Mine was a couple of years ago. Medicare paid the basic cost, and I had to pony up the additional for the special lenses.

What I remember ,most was the number of eyedrops, during and in the days following. There were so many prior to the surgery and during, that I tried to count them in the second eye. I lost count at 71.
 

DRC458

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Thanks, that is in line with what I was told and saw sometime back. I’ve been told that I am in the beginning stages of cataract formation in both eyes. With at least 4 different types of lenses available, combinations of those lenses, and combining the lens with corrective surgery, there is quite a bit to be considered. From what I remember, the optional parts can run from $1000-3500 per eye.

I have so many eye issues, I feel I’m very fortunate to be able to cope with it using contact lenses. Even corrective surgery is unlikely to bring the sight I have now with contact lenses. When my cataracts progress to the point removal is my natural lens is necessary, I’m hopeful the entire solution will be something as good or better than what I experience now.

From the time my optometrist first told me I had cataracts starting, until I decided I had to do something about it, was about a year or eighteen months. Seemed to me like they progressed rather rapidly. I don't know if that time frame is typical or not.



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