NEW YORK—Americans are seeing the value of eye exams, according to the second annual Vision Wellness Study from Versant Health. More adults say they have received an eye exam within the past two years, compared with those who said the same in 2019 (81 percent vs. 77 percent, respectively).
 
In addition, more than half (53 percent) say their household members get an eye exam about once a year, and more than two thirds (69 percent) say having access to technology for virtual eye care visits would make have a high or moderate impact on the likelihood that their household members see an eye doctor more often.
 
The Vision Wellness Study explores how people’s views of eye exams have changed in the pandemic environment, including beliefs about the value of eye care services, the impact of technology innovations on accessing eye care, and concerns about care costs.
 
The health care industry experienced extraordinary challenges in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and health plan decision makers grappled with rapid responses to the crisis while making sure their members were able to access the care and services that support their ongoing health and wellness. Vision care was no exception, Versant Health noted.
 
Indeed, health plan executives believe that vision care will be even more important moving forward, according to the second annual Vision Wellness Study.
 
Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of health plan executive survey respondents said the importance of vision care insurance to members will either somewhat or substantially increase as a result of the pandemic. In fact, more than half (53 percent) of the health plan executives surveyed said routine eye exams have a strong impact on enhancing member satisfaction with their total health. 
 
The Vision Wellness Study explored both consumer and health plan executive opinions on eye exams given the pandemic, including interest in technology that enables virtual eye care, methods of eye care cost management, and barriers to access to eye care.