Um … if I owe you an apology for posting in your thread, consider it offered. But I’ve never tried to hold back information or pretend that my circumstances apply to everyone. I just think data points from a variety of situations can potentially be helpful (especially since, while you are the one who started the thread, other people might read it looking for insight, and perhaps their situation isn’t quite the same as yours).
Anyhow, apology on offer if it’s needed.
I didn’t write my post well. $3,000 to $6,000 per eye with the most basic lens is what the average cost is that is billed if you don’t have insurance. With Medicare A and B and a decent Medigap supplement you would pay anything unless you opted for a whiz bang multi-focal or other exotic lens.
Not that you asked but I think Medicare Advantage is only an advantage for the for profit insurance company that collects your premium and then sets out to deny almost everything. It takes care of the company and the investors, you, not so much. There has been a lot in the papers the last few weeks about how the various Advantage companies are going to deny more and crank down the benefits to bolster their profit margin and bottom line. I wouldn’t get near an Advantage plan for anything. If you do and find it wanting and try to get into traditional later, you may have to go through underwriting, preexisting stuff may be denied coverage forevermore and it will definitely cost you more for the rest of your life than if you had gone with straight Medicare when you first sign up. Look up our extremely wise Doper @JohnT-his threads about Medicare and MC Advantage will put the fear of the gods and goddesses in you. It’s all true, as a home health nurse for over a decade I had many patients die waiting for chemo or a hospital bed to be authorized. Many, literally die waiting. Those cheap, sweet Advantage plans weren’t so sweet when you need the goods, not saving a hundred bucks a month in premiums.
I think you are probably right. At $2300 x 2 extra for multi-focal lenses, I’ll probably go with monovision lenses, continue to wear glasses for the non-corrected distance and use that $4,600 savings for new hearing aids, which will just about cover it. I’ve worn glasses for 50+ years, continuing to wear them some of the time won’t even be noticeable to me.
Yeah, also as you said your vision isn’t that bad yet. My father was told he’d need to get it done only about a year ago and at that point his vision wasn’t at all bad. It only started to have a sudden and rapid decline about 6 months before his surgery when he first started noticing halos while driving at night. So he didn’t put it off so much as didn’t really need it until he was pretty old and it was ironically more of an ordeal than if his vision had declined when he was younger. Their advice was more along the lines of “if your vision is starting to go, don’t hesitate for too long.” But given the equivocation of whether it would improve things or make them worse for you in the moment, I’d probably hesitate as well. By the time my parents got it done there was only potential upside.
I do have insurance, but I also have a deductible that needs to be met, so several thousand dollars out of pocket would absolutely be what I would pay if I decided to do this tomorrow. I’ve been lucky the last few years that nothing else has broken so the deductible is almost at zero.
And yes, I’m aware of the Medicare thread and the drawbacks of the Advantage plans. That’s a bridge I’ll cross when I come to it in a few years.
Not at all - you just said you had no idea why someone would wait on corrective surgery. I have what I think are reasonable reasons to wait, and the doctor mentioned it too.
I was lucky enough to not draw a short stick when it came to my vision, especially considering my mom had retinitis pigmentosa and was essentially blind by the time she passed. I don’t want to unintentionally make my own situation worse, which could actually be an outcome here. One thing I have learned in life is that sometimes doing nothing is the best option.
I doubt that is a factor in most places in the US. A surgeon doing 400 surgeries a year is going to well versed in all the nuances. My experience as a nurse who was caring for lots of clients post cataract surgery in my Midwestern town of 300,000 I didn’t see or hear any horror stories regardless of the complexity of the lens. Whether that is true for towns with less density or access to experienced specialists, I do not know. Of course you need to select the best surgeon and ambulatory surgical center you can drive to, even if you have to stay overnight in a motel several times for post operative visits. In Nebraska for instance, there are 3 eye surgery centers in Lincoln, 60 miles away in Omaha, there are 7. Everyone else has to travel to Lincoln or Omaha to use those surgeons doing 400+ cataract surgeries a year. That could be up to 380 miles each way if you’re coming from the western border. I’m sure that some go to Denver or Colorado Springs which would be closer.
I’m fortunate, I already live in Lincoln and have already had eye microsurgery done, so I have my surgeons all picked out. Not all are that lucky, I know.
…In 2021, 10,000 U.S. cataract surgeons will perform approximately 4 million procedures, for an average of 400 per year per surgeon.Feb 1, 2021
[image]
https://www.healio.com › news › f…
…Future of cataract surgery seems promising - Healio…
Both things are exactly what I was told also, within the past year.
I don’t know what a ‘Replacement’ policy is but with my traditional Medicare A and B, plus a Medigap supplemental I paid exactly $0 for the $12,000 worth of eye surgery I had done 5 years ago. Ambulatory outpatient, IV conscious sedation.
A shitty outcome is highly unlikely, plus they do one eye at a time. For me the risk avoidance was dwarfed by the benefit. As pointed out by my doctor, not everyone agrees.
Here’s an analogy: For me, it’s like never flying because the plane might crash. Not likely, but it could. I’d have given up a lot of tremendous experiences. But, yeah, no chance a dying in a crash.
FYI, I had that done. Easy Peasy. Just took a few minutes looking into whatever type of scope it is. Like a regular eye appointment really.
I am now facing an advancing cataract in my right eye. I’ll be going to see a doc about that soon. I will also be looking into what my insurance covers.
The problem is financial - I’m not sure I’d be able to come up with several thousand dollars after paying off the medical bills from last year’s multiple surgeries AND the necessity of replacing my aging vehicles. Borrow the money? The term “crushing debt” comes to mind. Sure, I might do it anyway and just live on rice and beans for the next 10 years, never buy any new clothes, etc.
It is extremely frustrating to have medical tech out there that would be “life-changing” but be unable to access it.
They should. Because you shouldn’t assume a person couldn’t somehow come up with the money (after my own rant about not having any money…)
Insurance covering part of the cost of something can make something affordable that otherwise wouldn’t be so.
I’ll add a bit more detail, and some new info (if that’s OK with the OP).
In my case I suffered some sort of seizure during the critical part of the operation, which jostled the surgeon’s instruments, destroying the just-placed new lens and some of the supportive tissue it rests on.
As @LSLGuy says, they were able to repair almost everything, but it took several months which I spent with mono-vision. At this point I’m back to 95% fixed, but have declined to consider any additional surgeries. The gods have made their point, and I’m not taking any more chances.
FTR: mine were back to back surgeries (right eye one day, left eye the next). Another eye-doc and my GP believe this contributed to the problem, as I have known adverse reactions to anesthesia. Being put under two days in a row was too risky. In fact, their contention is that ophthalmologists shouldn’t be doing surgeries this close together, period. They say anesthesia meds can stay in your body far longer than 24 hours, but I’m no expert on this.
Now that it’s all over, my only advice would be to insist on some time (a week or more) between each eye. I wish I had.
FWIW, my doctor did both eyes in the same sitting.
Also FWIW for the money talk, since my surgery was completely elective, there was no insurance involved. I paid roughly $11k for the multi-focal PanOptix Toric lenses. My procedure was laser based for the cutting, which reduces swelling and some side effects. It also allows for some astigmatism correciton.
My uncle developed an infection after his surgery. He called the doctors office to complain about pain, and they told him it was normal, rather than having him come in and be looked at. He lost most of his vision, permanently, as a result.
I fly, and i plan to have cataract surgery. But i wear my seatbelt on the plane…
I recommend
I’ve found an ophthalmologist who specializes in non-standard and premium cataract surgery, and who also does tons of vanilla ones, because i have the money to buy a fancy lens if that makes sense, and want a surgeon who is comfortable with that.
“Medicare Replacement” is the formal name for Part C, the stuff marketed as “Medicare Advantage” which replaces all your access to what’s formally termed “Traditional Medicare” which is Parts A & B.
“Medicare Supplement” is the formal term for what’s colloquially called “medigap” and is Parts E through N offering quite a smorgasbord of ways to buy (or be sold) the wrong thing.
But yeah, I agree completely with the rest of your posts, that Medicare Advantage = Part C is the real wrong thing in this drama.
Our health care system is horrible. I wish you luck and am sending you good vibes.
Are you non-U.S.? I am told the “all at once” approach is more common in Europe, not so much in the U.S. Maybe it’s regional. I don’t know anyone who had both eyes done at one time.
Thank you.
I have my first appointment with the cataract specialist on July 10. I’m sure I’ll have more information after that appointment.
I would really like the most optimal result. I am not, however, wedded to the notion of not needing glasses afterward (although it would be nice). Needing less correction than before would mark a major improvement for me, who has had significant myopia as well as astigmatism all my life.
Due to retina surgery back in March cataract formation has greatly advanced in my right eye. That medical history might also have an impact on my options. It also means that I might only need one eye done at this point, which makes a fancy new lens less of an obstacle financially if that seems a good thing.
I emphatically do not want that split near/far monovision thing. I’ve been dealing with essentially that due to changes in my vision due to my earlier eye surgery and I am not adapting. By 3 or 4 in the afternoon (latest) I start having problems with doubled/unfocused vision. It can happen at other times as well. This result in situations where I am having to drive down the road with one eye closed to see clearly, or to read, or to use a computer, or watch TV. Lots of eye strain, literal headaches, and frustration. Also, really crap depth perception with just one eye open. My depth perception (per the FAA eye exam) was never great to begin. I really don’t want to lose any more of it. Nothing is ever in sharp focus, ever, if I use both eyes. I hate it.
(I am legal to drive. I had to get a new driver’s license recently and was decreed safe to drive even though my vision in my surgified eye does not meet the usual requirements.)
Even so, I do have functional vision in my right eye. It contributes to depth perception, which is nice to have back (I lacked it for a couple weeks post surgery). One option might be to get a new prescription for refractive errors (that, too, has changed) which should improve the situation to some degree and get the cataract removed next year when my finances will, I hope, be in a better place. Clearly something to talk to the doctor about. My understanding is that this is not an emergency, I can take the time to make the right choice for me.
I had cataract surgery on my right eye 1 1/2 weeks ago and on the left 3 1/2 weeks ago. Right now my glasses aren’t right for either eye, so I’m eagerly awaiting a trip to the eye doctor to get new lenses.
I did it because my left eye was so blurry that it was hard to read small print from it. Now I have 20/20 vision in it, and can see small things without my glasses.
I have astigmatism also, and will still need glasses, which is a feature not a bug since I’ve worn glasses for almost 65 years and don’t know what I’d do without them. The doctor said that my astigmatism might change, so even if I got new lenses that cured it I might need glasses later.
I’m on Medicare, and it and my Medigap covered 100% of my surgery. If I needed the advanced lenses it would be about $3,000 per eye.
I was kind of nervous about people touching my eye, but it seems that they have an anesthetic that relaxes you. I don’t remember anything about the procedure but the doctor said I was awake and cooperative. I was in by 7 am and out by 10.
Everything is much brighter without the cataracts.
BTW, I know someone who did both eyes at once, but she goes to Kaiser who were probably doing it that way to save money.
I checked out the Alcon website; they make the PanOptix lenses. Pretty interesting with the variety of lenses they make, and they also have a decent page on what Medicare/insurance will and not pay for.
God, yeah. It’s like having all those cicadas singing in the background all the freaking time.
I can’t find it now, but I think one of the respondents above said it would be better to wait for surgery because you might be “stuck” with a lens that didn’t work well for you for the rest of your life. I think you can have less than optimal lenses replaced . Of course the drawback is yet another surgery with the attendant cost.
@Voyager , your experience is virtually identical to mine, right down to the reluctance to give up my glasses. Astigmatism correction was included in the price of my cataract surgery, but I’ve heard more horror stories about LASIK gone bad than about lens implants, plus my glasses hide the bags under my eyes. 