B.C. patients will soon no longer have to pay for cataract lenses.
Starting June 4, the province will pick up the tab for non-standardized (foldable) lenses, a cost now billed to patients.
Foldable intraocular lenses are preferred by surgeons because they are less invasive, requiring smaller incisions to insert them in the eye. The cost of the surgery is covered by the province's Medical Services Plan (MSP) but until the new policy takes effect, patients will be paying extra for foldable lenses. Purchased directly from surgeons, the current cost ranges from as low as $250 for a single lens to as much as $1,900. In cases where foldable lenses are deemed medically necessary, the cost is covered by the medical plan.
In 2010-11 in the Northern Health region, 1,675 foldable lenses were placed in patients, including 675 in the northeast region, 250 in the northwest and 750 in the northern interior.
Cataract surgery is necessary when the natural lens of the eye loses its transparency and becomes partially or totally opaque, resulting in loss of vision. The surgeon removes the lens and inserts a plastic lens implant, which in more than 90 per cent of all surgeries, successfully restores vision.
Symptoms of cataracts include blurred or hazy vision, increased sensitivity to light, dulled colour perception and increased nearsightedness.
