The light adjusted lenses look like they require an experienced doctor. It looks like it was available at Mayo Clinic since 2022.
Be careful to check what Medicare will cover (or not). I had some interesting and confusing recommendations. I needed to see an Ophthalmologist outside of my home town. At that visit, the MD said I was ready for cataract surgery, and quickly made an appointment, but explained that Medicare would only cover the basic single level lens, somewhat encouraging me to choose a self-pay option. I decided to wait and research my options.
When I went back to my ‘regular’ Optometrist, they said I was not yet at the level needed for Medicare coverage at all. So, I began to question if the former recommendation was valid, or an unnecessary push by that office. Home office does not do the surgery themselves, but recommends other local Ophthalmologists who specialize in cataract surgery. So, I leaned toward trusting the home office since they had no economic reason to push or not push surgery.
I did ask home office about coverage - once I was eligible, and was sad to learn Medicare would not cover a lens that corrects astigmatism. So, technically, to get any type of clear vision, it appears I will need to pay OP.
I don’t mind wearing glasses to read. I think I’ll be happy with simple distance vision correction, to avoid the need while hiking, movies, etc. But unfortunately, astigmatism will likely dictate self-pay anyway.
Does self pay mean no coverage by medicare at all if choosing a lens not the basic one? Also does anyone have experience with BC/BS Federal Employee Plan as a secondary insurance?
My H and I are both on Medicare and have an FEHB plan secondary (not BCBS but Aetna Direct, though it shouldn’t make a difference). Medicare paid for the surgery but if we chose any lens other than the basic one, we had to pay the additional cost of the lens.
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That’s what they told my husband when he went in for a consult.
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We are medicare and bcbs fehb. H still had to pay the extra for the lazer vs “regular” surgery. He also opted for distance correction in both eyes only. He wasn’t offered the newer UV light lenses that were mentioned upthread. As i recalll our out of pocket was under $2000 total.
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I had my cataracts done on both eyes 5 years ago. I had vision insurance and medical insurance. The medical insurance paid part of it and I paid part. It was early in the year before I met my deductible, so I paid several hundred dollars per eye.
I was told that I would be under anesthesia but still be somewhat aware, so that I could communicate with the doctor if something hurt. I was also told that I would remember next to nothing. I still remember, 5 years later, the conversation the nurse and technician had about the doctor, how much they didn’t like him, how much of a jerk he was, etc etc. Then all of a sudden the air in the room changed as the doctor entered the room. Then the nurse and tech got all sappy and asked the doctor how he was, was he looking forward to the weekend, how was his family, etc etc.
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I had my eyes done with LAL back in late August. I’m still hopeful of a good outcome but it has been very slow going for me. My left eye only needed one adjustment for astigmatism and has 20/20 distance vision. The problem is my right eye. My goal is blended vision with the right eye adjusted for reading. I’ve had 2 adjustments on the right eye but my near vision is poor at the moment. I’ve struggled with dry eye and did extensive dry eye treatments in the lead up to the cataract surgery to get my eyes “ready.” But both times that I’ve gotten an adjustment in my right eye, it exacerbates the dry eye and takes me weeks to recover. They’re being very conservative and hesitant to do more adjustments on me until my right eye is better. I have corneal erosions on the right eye that make them hesitant to do another adjustment or lock in. The optometrist who has been doing the adjustments says that if we can get that treated, I might not even need another adjustment. She’s sending me back to the ophthalmologist for a follow up next week. So I’m 4.5 months in and still having to wear the nerdy UV blocking glasses outdoors (they told me I didn’t need to wear them indoors). Hoping it all works out but it has not been smooth sailing for me.
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That was also my understanding. However, WHY would a simple lens that corrected astigmatism cost over $3200? I would assume the surgery is the major cost, and the lens only a minor one.
I have astigmatism, so I was only able to have the $2000 lens. My gfs both got the fancier lens. Also, some docs don’t think the laser makes much difference, less than 15%.
I was so nervous the first time, but the second time was a breeze.
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I’m coming back to update on my LAL surgery. I’m finally locked in and happy with my results. I have my desired “blended vision” and only need readers for the smallest print. I can read my phone easily. My night vision is good. But I also think my experience is a cautionary tale about doing LAL when you have known dry eye issues. Each adjustment seemed to make the dry eye get worse and it had to be brought back under control each time by aggressive treatment. I am grateful that my doctors didn’t attempt to rush me through the process and were conservative. By my count, it took 6 months since the surgery and I saw the optometrist 11 times from the start of the LAL adjustment process to lock-in. I’m retired so I could deal with the slow progress and the constant trips back and forth to the doctor’s office, but it would’ve been a lot harder if I were someone who had a job or other time pressures.
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following…
I also have dry eyes and expect to have cataract surgery this year. Are the dry eyes more of an issue because of the blended vision option?
It’s not just because of blended vision. I’m not a doctor, but my understanding is that dry eyes make it hard for the ophthalmologist to do a proper refraction or to do the measurements needed to decide what IOL is best for you. Don't Let Dry Eye Derail Cataract Surgery - American Academy of Ophthalmology
- Ocular surface disease can affect calculations for the IOL that will replace your natural lens during cataract surgery. Your surgeon measures your eye to determine the proper focusing power for your IOL. If your tear film is irregular, your ocular surface dry or your vision fluctuates due to OSD, that can lead to data errors during the measurement process. These errors can result in an IOL that may not be ideal for your eyes. You may be left with some residual far sightedness, near sightedness or astigmatism after surgery.
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Finally, I decided to go for cataract surgery eval and chose the toric and distance vision. Will use readers. Next is the first surgery in one month. So glad they did the very detailed visual fields. No optic nerve damage or glaucoma was found.
Thank you @eyemgh for your valuable input in the threads.
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Well had first surgery done yesterday. Went very smoothly. Followup today 20/20 vision. Trying out my new readers looks like 2.0 for now. I can read the screen in our Tesla without readers. Yes blues and purples seem so much brighter. Also my eye pressure that was hovering around 21 is now 13. So that’s good. New eye surgery in 10 days.
The anesthetic was mild at best- they said versed and fentanyl but it felt like 25 mg Benadryl and I think I remembered everything. So what ever they did IV it worked well.
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I moved up my April eye appt to next week, because I feel like there’s been a drop in my eyesight. I hope he says that I’m ready for cataract surgery.
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I keep thinking at for a brief moment that I have my contact lens in (it’s the cataract lens replacement) and I need to remove it when I go to bed.
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Just had my eye appointment today. Virtually no change in my vision and he said that barring any dramatic change, I shouldn’t need cataract surgery for 5 years!
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I have my cataract surgery consult next month. Fingers crossed for great results!
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