Lasik Eye Surgery Health Insurance

The exponential medical inflation has rendered even certain basic medical treatments to be expensive. This can lead to quality healthcare becoming inaccessible to a majority of Indians. However, health insurance is the perfect addition to your financial plan as it takes care of major medical expenses and helps you avail of the best treatment without worrying about the costs.

Insurers offer comprehensive and affordable health insurance policies that cover a wide range of medical conditions and treatment expenses. The coverage offered by medical insurance plans differs for each plan and provider. Certain procedures are covered by a limited number of health insurance plans. One such procedure is the LASIK eye operation.

In this article, we will understand what LASIK eye operation entails, how much the laser treatment of eyes costs in India and is eye LASIK surgery covered by insurance.

One of the most commonly performed and popular laser refractive surgery for vision correction issues, LASIK or Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, is performed to replace contact lenses or glasses.

A special variant of laser - microkeratome - is used during lasik eye surgery to improve vision by minutely and precisely cutting and changing the shape of the dome-shaped clear tissue (cornea) present at the front of your eye. In the case of normal vision, the cornea is able to correctly bend the light so that it properly reaches the retina at the back of the eye. However, in case of vision issues - hyperopia (farsightedness), myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism, the cornea is unable to perform this function correctly, which leads to improper or blurry vision.

Glasses and contact lenses help correct this refraction issue. However, a Lasik eye surgery reshapes the cornea and corrects the core issue, thereby correcting the vision.

There are generally four types of LASIK eye surgeries:

• Wavefront Guided LASIK
• Wave Optimised LASIK
• Topography Guided LASIK
• All-Laser LASIK

The minimum cost for Lasic eye surgery in India is around ₹10,000, and the maximum cost can go up to ₹1,60,000. Thus, the average LASIK laser treatment for eyes cost in India is approximately ₹60,000.

The cost of LASIK eye surgery depends on the following factors:

• Doctor fees
• Admission fees at the hospital/clinic and room rent
• The type of LASIK eye surgery
• Patient’s age
• The medical and health condition of the patient
• Any post-surgical complications
• Any examinations and tests as prescribed by the doctor
• The city where you are getting the operation done

Metropolitan cities like Mumbai have higher medical costs, and thus, LASIK eye surgery costs will also be higher here. Alternatively, Tier-II and Tier-III cities will have a lower cost of treatment.

No matter which city you reside in, it is important to check if LASIK surgery is covered by your insurance to ensure quality treatment without worrying about the costs.

If you are looking to get LASIK eye surgery done and are confused about the insurance for this eye operation, simply get in touch with your health insurance provider and ask, “is Lasik covered by my insurance?” You can also go through the detailed policy document of your medical insurance plan and check if Lasik surgery is covered by your insurance.

If you have health insurance for eye surgery, then check how much of the total cost will be covered by your policy. Sometimes, health insurance does not cover certain expenses, such as specific tests or the cost of equipment/disposables that may be charged in your bill, or your policy may have a limit on the doctor’s fees or room rent charges.

Make a point to check all these details and determine what percentage of the total LASIK eye surgery cost will have to be borne by you. This helps you to be better prepared for the treatment costs and not be surprised by limited reimbursement after claim filing. In addition, if your health insurance policy does not cover the entire cost of treatment, be prepared with the funds for your proportion of the expenses.

Another thing to check is whether the hospital/clinic is a network hospital under your health insurance policy. Network hospitals allow you to avail of cashless treatments, so you only have to pay for your part of the total bill. However, in the case of a non-network hospital, you will have to bear the entire cost of the LASIK eye surgery and then file for reimbursement with your health insurance provider.

Every eye laser surgery insurance coverage comes with a set of conditions. For example, LASIK eye surgery will be covered under a medical insurance plan only if:

1. The refractive error is caused by an accident or injury and needs corrective eye surgery.
2. Other surgery leads to a refractive error requiring LASIK eye surgery for correction.
3. There are major refractive issues.
4. Physical deformity, physical limitations, severe pain or lack of tolerance do not allow the person to wear corrective glasses and/or lenses.

Until very recently, LASIK eye surgery was considered a cosmetic procedure and eye laser surgery insurance coverage was not provided by most leading insurers. However, in recent times, considering the rising number of people opting for the treatment, a wide number of insurance companies now offer health insurance for eye surgery.

If you are planning on getting LASIK eye surgery, make sure to go through your policy documents, inclusions and exclusions and check if LASIK surgery is covered by your insurance policy. If you are looking for a medical insurance plan, make sure to compare health insurance on the Tata AIG website, look for the necessary coverage and inclusions and then buy the health insurance policy from Tata AIG that truly matches your insurance needs and budget.