Most of the people who are suffering from myopia wear glasses or contact lenses depending on their convenience. If you are someone who wants to get rid of the daily struggle of putting in contacts or feel uncomfortable wearing glasses, you can consider several surgical interventions, the popular of which is LASIK, or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis.
But is LASIK covered by your health insurance policy?
“Health insurance policies will generally cover treatment for correction of eye vision due to refractive error recommended by an ophthalmologist for medical reasons with a refractive error greater than or equal to 7.5. However, this is subject to the terms of the policy and Applicable as per conditions and may vary from insurer to insurer,” said Bhaskar Nerurkar, Head – Health Administration Team, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
Here’s a look at some of the conditions under which coverage may be provided for LASIK eye surgery:
Refractive error due to an injury or accident requires eye surgery.
Eye surgery is necessary for a refractive error caused by another surgery.
Refractive error greater than or equal to 7.5 diopters requires eye surgery.
Eye surgery is required because the person is unable to wear glasses due to physical deformity or persistent pain.
Eye surgery is required because the person is unable to use contact lenses due to a physical limitation or lack of tolerance to contact lenses.
“Most health insurance providers classify LASIK as a non-urgent procedure and an outpatient treatment that does not require hospitalization. Therefore, it is generally not included in standard health insurance coverage. As per the rules laid down by IRDAI, individuals with refractive power of 8 diopters or more or should receive necessary treatment in case of accidental injuries which will be covered by their health insurance policy. Before submitting a claim, it is important for policyholders to carefully review their policy documents to ensure coverage and any applicable waiting period,” said Siddharth Singhal, Business Head – Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com.
In short, LASIK is a cosmetic surgery and unless the above conditions are met and you are having the surgery only to get rid of the contact lenses of glasses, it will not be covered by your health policy.
Rupinderjit Singh, Vice President, Retail Health, ACKO, said, “For most of the insurance products there is no limit for its coverage within the products. But, it is best to read the terms and conditions of the product before going for surgery.” ,