healthnotes TRICAREUPDA+E
DID YOU KNOW TRICARE COV- ERS CATARACT SURGERY, as well as related supplies and services? Specifically, TRICARE will cover cat- aract surgery involving replacement of a clouded lens with a standard intraocular lens (IOL). However, if you opt to use a nonstandard IOL, you are required to pick up the dif- ference in cost. Additionally, after cataract sur-
gery, patients often require reading glasses. TRICARE will cover one pair of contacts or glasses following each medically necessary cataract proce- dure with an IOL.
Cataract Facts
Cataract Surgery
If you have cataracts in both eyes that require surgery, the surgery will be performed on each eye at separate times.
50%
By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.
An estimated
17.2%
(17.2%) Americans age 40 and older have a cataract in one or both eyes. Source: CDC
20.5 million
For more information about
TRICARE coverage and cataract surgery, contact your regional contractor. If you aren’t sure how to contact them, visit
www.tricare .mil/contactus/
callus.aspx. You also can visit “TRICARE Cataract Cover- age Explained” (
www.tricare.mil/ cataractsurgery122915) or the Eye Surgery and Treatment page on TRICARE’s website (
www.tricare .mil/coveredservices/isitcovered/ey
esurgerytreatment.aspx). —Spencer Brooks, MOAA
member service representative
Besides age, risk factors for cataract include:
Personal behavior, such as smoking and alcohol use.
In one large study, 95 out of 100 adults were satisfied with the results of their cataract surgery. Source: American Acad- emy of Ophthalmology
Certain diseases, such as diabetes.
The environment, such as prolonged exposure to sunlight.
26 MILITARY OFFICER MARCH 2016
IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK; INFOGRAPHIC: ROSE RICHEY INFOGRAPHIC SOURCE: NIH, EXCEPT AS INDICATED
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