CMS Ruling Gives Beneficiaries Presbyopia-Correcting IOL Choice

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) clarified its payment rules to present Medicare beneficiaries with the choice to receive presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses that provide restoration of distance, near and intermediate vision with less dependency on eyeglasses or contact lenses following cataract surgery.

Prior to the CMS ruling, limitations on Medicare payment prevented beneficiaries from choosing to purchase these lenses. Under the new policy, Medicare will continue existing reimbursement amounts for cataract surgery, and patients may elect to pay additional charges for advanced technology lenses.

Presbyopia is an inevitable age-related eye condition that makes it difficult to read or see objects up-close without the use of reading glasses. Presbyopia is the first sign of a cataract and is the most prevalent eye condition in America. It causes the crystalline lens to increasingly stiffen, lose flexibility and cloud, diminishing its focusing ability.