According to retina specialists, a third of the population has problems with seeing objects that are far away. This is what is known as short-sightedness, or myopia. And this kind of refractive error can lead to complications that, if not treated in time, can become irreversible in some cases. That’s why, when it comes to enjoying good eye health, many people wonder whether medical insurance covers surgery for short-sightedness.
Undoubtedly, refractive surgery is a significant advance for treating those who suffer from short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia. Adeslas has come to an agreement with some ophthalmologists and ophthalmology clinics so that its customers can have access to a more competitive price for these vision correction surgeries.
With eye surgery, it is possible to make the light focus correctly on the retina so that patients can enjoy clearer vision.
And by modifying the eye’s refractive status, we can try to eliminate the use of glasses or contact lenses.
Nowadays, refractive surgery involves a precise surgical technique that uses an excimer laser or excimer lasers to correct the short-sightedness simply and painlessly using two different procedures:
LASIK. This is the most common method. With this method, vision can be recovered simply and quickly. Results are often obtained very quickly and they are often very good.
PRK/LASEK. Although less common, this procedure makes it possible to operate on patients with vision problems who cannot be treated with LASIK because their cornea is very thin or fragile.
This kind of intervention is highly advanced and effective. Among others, it has the following benefits:
It does not require the use of surgical materials.
The patient can have the procedure under local anaesthetic.
It lasts between 10 and 15 minutes.
It does not require sutures, nor does it lead to any post-operative pain.
And your vision will return to normal immediately.
In terms of whether medical insurance covers surgery for short-sightedness, Adeslas’ insurance policies do not cover this surgical intervention. However, in our effort to provide the best service to insured parties, we enable patients who want to have surgery for short-sightedness to do so at clinics with special rates for SegurCaixa Adeslas, by paying an excess to the provider.
It is important to understand that because this is type of surgery is voluntary, neither social security nor insurance companies cover surgery for short-sightedness, although Adeslas does offer benefits to insured parties that proceed with the intervention, as explained below.
Despite this, it is a good idea to take out private health insurance if you want to look after your sight:
All Adeslas health insurance policies include ophthalmology check-ups with no waiting period.
Through our health policies, insured parties benefit from a broad ophthalmology coverage provided by the SegurCaixa Adeslas Medical Team.
And, if they would like to do so, they can undergo surgery for short-sightedness at a centre with which Adeslas has reached an agreement.
Even though the medical insurance does not directly cover surgery for short-sightedness, nor does it include surgical corrections for other refractive disorders such as presbyopia, astigmatism and long-sightedness, we help our insured parties to undergo refractive surgery to improve their vision.
The cost of surgery for short-sightedness depends on the province and ophthalmology centre - information that you can find in the patient’s Medical Team by searching for “refractive surgery” in Additional Services. And those insured by Adeslas, who request this procedure, receive a discount.
This service is available in insurance policies that include hospitalisation cover. And to access it, you need to have been registered for the policy for six months and go to an Adeslas branch in person.
The ophthalmological coverages directly covered by a private health insurance policy from Adeslas are as follows:
Retinography is a digital photograph of the back of the eye, carried out to analyse the patient’s retina for the purpose of identifying any anomalies and detecting changes to it, as well as to study these changes and document them.
As there is no direct contact with the eye, the examination is painless.
The only discomfort associated with it, in the case of central retinographies, is the need to dilate the pupil beforehand by administering drops.
It is a very quick examination (between 5 and 10 minutes per eye).
And it is very helpful in identifying eye problems such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular oedema, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, etc.
Retinographies are particularly recommended for patients with diabetes, high blood pressure and short-sightedness, as well as for those who have a family history of eye problems or are over 45 years of age.
Another ophthalmology item included in Adeslas’ health policies is optical coherence tomography (OCT).
This test involves using light waves to take cross-section images of the retina.
As with retinography, this imaging test is non-invasive and does not cause the patient any discomfort.
OCT is usually used to assess optic nerve disorders.
And it is useful for diagnosing issues ranging from holes, macular oedemas and puckers to glaucoma to age-related macular degeneration, obstruction of the blood vessels, diabetic or serous retinopathy, etc.
Orthoptics deals with the diagnosis, rehabilitation and treatment of vision conditions such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus.
Orthoptic therapies are reserved for patients with binocular vision problems, vision conditions caused by bad habits and eye fatigue.
They do not involve any physical discomfort, as they consist of exercises which, once explained by the specialist, can be practised at the insured individual’s home.
Pleoptics is used to treat and improve vision problems when there are no structural conditions. The most common case is amblyopia (lazy eye).
Whereas in orthoptics the eyes are trained in an individual and monocular way, in pleoptics, exercises are carried out binocularly (with both eyes at the same time).
Corneal cross-linking is another ophthalmology item included in Adeslas’ health insurance policies.
The purpose of corneal cross-linking is to stabilise the cornea and slow the progression of keratoconus, which leads to the progressive degeneration of the cornea.
The symptoms of this illness are a thinning of the tissue, astigmatism and a reduction in visual acuity.
And keratoconus is the main reason for corneal transplants in young people.
Corneal cross-linking is a simple outpatient procedure: after applying some drops to the surface of the eye, the eye is exposed to harmless ultraviolet radiation.
Lastly, the macula is the part of the retina that enables us to recognise people’s faces, read and watch television. And age is the main risk factor in terms of its degeneration. Treatment for this, apart from the cost of the drugs, is covered by Adeslas through one of these techniques:
Photodynamic therapy. The injection of a light-sensitive chemical substance into the blood and light irradiation in the affected part of the retina.
Intravitreal drug injection. The administration of medications into the vitreal cavity, at the back of the eye.
Get in touch with us and we will help you choose your insurance