Is Cataract Surgery Covered by Care Health Insurance?

What is a Cataract?

Cataract is the clouding in the eye lens that reduces visibility of a person. As a person ages, the lens of their eye often becomes thicker because of deposits. This clouded and dense area makes the cornea opaque and reduces its flexibility.

As per a survey conducted by the government, cataract surgeries emerged as the most commonly opted minor surgeries, especially in non-urban population. This throws a lot of light on the number of Indians who need this minor but much-needed surgical procedure.

With approximately 12 million blind people in India, about 62.6% of all blindness is because of cataracts.

Symptoms of Cataract

Because of cataracts, a person gradually faces issues with vision as these lumps prevent from sending clear images to your retina. They can also cause partial or complete blindness if not treated properly on time. In such extreme cases, surgery is the best option for the person to restore their sight.

While this disease is common in aging people, there are many instances where younger people may notice its beginning symptoms. Some of the most prevalent symptoms of cataracts can be:

• Blurry vision
• Occurrences of double vision in the problematic eye(s)
• Faded and/or yellow appearance of colors
• Problem seeing at night
• Higher light sensitivity in case of brightness
• Seeing halos around the light source

Causes of Cataract

While the chances of developing a cataract in our eyes increase gradually with our age, some other factors often accelerate and may contribute to these growths:

• High blood pressure
• Genetics (family history)
• Consuming alcohol excessively
• Deficiency (Vitamins)
• Prolonged use of corticosteroid medicines

With a cataract's growth, even basic activities like watching TV, reading fine prints, driving a vehicle, etc become very difficult. Thankfully, surgeries for cataracts have become extremely advanced and hassle-free.

Why Ensure that your Health Insurance Covers Cataract Surgery?

An ophthalmic surgeon can safely and quickly operate this cataract and replace your natural eye lens with an artificial lens. Depending on the cost of the lens, along with other factors, cataract surgery may cost anywhere between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 1, 00,000.

There are also significant changes in the surgery costs depending on what kind of surgery may be carried out. The surgeon will carry out tests like biometry, specular microscopy, OCT test, and others to determine the conditions of your eye.

While most people may find a few ten-twenty thousand rupees affordable, there may be cases exceeding well beyond that threshold. Especially in case of complications, they may be pretty heavy on your pockets. Take a look at the costs of different types of cataract surgeries in India:

• A phacoemulsification cataract surgery can cost around Rs 40,000
• Extra capsular cataract surgery will cost anywhere between Rs 35,000 and Rs 60,000
• Bladeless cataract surgery can cost up to Rs 85,000

Surely, these are costs that not everyone can afford. Some households might even exceed their household savings that could have been saved thanks to a comprehensive health insurance plan.

Does Care Health Insurance Cover Cataract Surgery?

Luckily, most health plans including Care health insurance policy covers cataract surgery among others in the case of older parents.

Some of the benefits of buying Care health insurance for parents include a lot of options for senior citizens. Make sure that this plan includes coverage for their pre-existing diseases and other diseases they might be susceptible to.

Since cataract surgery is included among the daycare treatments; it is advisable that you opt for a senior citizen health insurance plan for your parents so that there is a higher sum insured along with additional benefits.

There are Care Health Insurance plans offering cover for cataract surgery. A few of these are:

• Care – Heart Plan: This plan offers coverage from Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per eye for cataract treatment.
• Care Freedom – Plan 1:This plan offers coverage from Rs 20,000 to 30,000 per eye but excludes multifocal lens implantation.
• Super Mediclaim: This plan is available for individuals and families and covers cataract surgery only in its Operation Mediclaim variant.
• Mera Mediclaim Combi Insurance: In this plan the coverage limit for Cataract surgery is up to Rs 20,000 to 30,000 per eye for cataract treatment.
• Grameen Care: Cataract treatment (Unilateral, Cataract with IOL by Phacoemulsification-unilateral/bilateral) is available under daycare procedures/surgeries
• Arogya Sanjeevani Policy: Cover for cataract treatment subject to a limit of 25% of SI or up to Rs 40,000 per eye, whichever is lower in a single policy year.

However, please note that most health insurance cover for cataract have a waiting period ranging from 24 months to 48 months, depending on the health insurance plan you have purchased. Also, remember that all expenses incurred during the treatment of cataracts are subject to the sub-limits dictated by the policy you have opted for.

Tips to Prevent Cataract

Cataracts are very common and are likely to happen to many people. However, there are always a few precautions you can take care of so that the changes can be lowered:

• Protect your eyes from UV rays by wearing sunglasses or using an umbrella
• Include a lot of fruits, vegetables, and protein to have a balanced meal
• Try to work out in order to maintain your weight with age
• Make sure you get regular checkups, especially your eyes
• Avoid smoking as much as possible

To Conclude

Most parents are monetarily dependent on their children in their old age. While it’s good to have them around, it is even better to see them healthy and vibrant without any health ailment causing too many issues. With affordable premiums and a lot of expenses covered, Care health insurance eases any burden arising due to day-care treatments and other post-surgery costs. So make sure you go through your options carefully and compare them online on Policybazaar before you decide on a health insurance plan for your parents.