PhilHealth Members May Avail Optometric Services Soon

Good news for those with vision problems! Starting this November, more Filipinos can benefit from Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) coverage for optometric services and prescription glasses.

PhilHealth executive vice president Eli Dino Santos confirmed this during a recent Senate hearing when Senator Christopher “Bong” Go asked about the possibility of rolling out free eyeglasses to help prevent the spread of eye problems among children.

“In fact, we already committed to cover the prescription glasses as part of PhilHealth packages and the date is November 2024,” Santos said, “That’s already part of our commitment and timeline.”

Vision loss and eye impairments among children and adolescents are becoming more prevalent. On a global scale, at least 450 million children have eye problems that need treatment.

Moreover, a 2018 data from the Philippine Eye Disease Study shows that blindness and vision impairment have a prevalence rate of 1.98 percent. This reveals that over a million Filipinos are suffering from cataracts, while others also suffer from uncorrected errors of refraction, glaucoma, and maculopathy or diabetic retinopathy.

Dr. Charli Ho, Integrated Philippine Association of Optometrists (IPAO) chairman stressed that PhilHealth’s inclusion of optometric services is important to enable earlier and quicker detection of eye problems in children.

“Many eye issues and even blindness are preventable with early intervention, but many Filipinos lack access to primary eye care from optometrists,” he said.

“Mahalaga po na madetect po ng maaga yung kondisyon po ng bata (It’s important to detect the child’s condition early)  because it affects their learning,” he added.

In addition to optometric services and prescription glasses, the agency will start covering its members’ crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs in January 2025.

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