Is Medicare Risking Our Vision?
By freelance author Andrew Lawrence
That's me
As a senior citizen, in late May 2026, I went to my eye
doctor, a prominent eye surgeon, as I had blurry vision in my left eye. I knew
what to expect because I had cataract surgery on my right eye years ago.
They did
lots of tests at the office and the doctor told me I had a thick cataract, and
it would cost me $1,000 to have it removed. $1,000? “Why?” I asked. He didn’t respond and
scheduled me with an associate doctor who would do it for no additional cost. I
was confused. And nervous. I trusted this surgeon and did not feel confident
about another doctor doing surgery on my eye.
Why should necessary
laser eye surgery cost me money out of pocket? I had Medicare. And supplemental
insurance with Blue Shield of California. Laser eye surgery is common;
shouldn’t it be covered? The eye doctor’s office person told me that the laser
surgery technique they used was not covered.
I called
Medicare. They told me that it is covered. Now I was very confused. I asked
Medicare. “Then why is my eye surgeon charging me $1,000?” They didn’t know.
Was my prominent eye surgeon charging me an extra $1,000 because he was a
prominent eye surgeon? Was Medicare wrong and this laser surgery was not
covered?
I decided to
investigate further. I wanted to, had to, solve this puzzle because my vision
was at risk.
Days later,
I called my eye surgeon’s office again. The representative explained the issue
further. Prominent surgeons use a technique known as Femtosecond Laser surgery
for cataract surgery. It is bladeless, very precise, and safer than the old
cataract surgery. They said it was not covered by Medicare. I asked, “Why
not?”. The representative responded that she didn’t know. I asked, “How long
have up-to-date surgeons been using this laser technique?” She said, “10 years
or more.”
I was
stunned. This latest, better cataract surgery has been practiced for a decade
or more and Medicare does not cover it? How could that be? According to Google AI, “Femtosecond
laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) has been practiced for about 18 years.” That being the case, why isn’t it covered
by Medicare?
I called
Medicare again. The representative said they did not know why it was not
covered. I responded, “Well, shouldn’t it be? How do I get this covered? Who
makes these decisions? The higher-ups?”
The Medicare rep could not help me.
As my vision
was at risk and, on behalf of 60 million Americans over the age of 65 who may
face cataract surgery, I decided to contact the top official at Medicare and try
to get this procedure covered ASAP. I went online to the Medicare website to
get that person’s email contact. There was no email contact for ANY of the
Medicare executives or services. What, no email support? OK, then I would contact the government agency
that oversees Medicare: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS). Headed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. There was no email address for
contacting them either.
That leaves me with contacting the White
House, and President Donald J. Trump. They have a contact form on the White House website. As
this is a critical medical issue, potentially affecting 60 million Americans, I
will send a message to the White House.
By not
updating to modern medical/surgical technique coverage, is Medicare putting our
health as seniors at risk? Putting our vision, YOUR vision, at risk? Is that
what’s happening in America’s 250th year?
Andrew is
the author of 20 self-help books, including the Elderly Diary. www.ElderlyDiary.com
