Is Vision Insurance Worth It?

A Guide for Employers

Did you know that more than 6 out of 10 U.S. adults wear either contacts, glasses, or both? It makes sense that employees report that either vision or dental insurance is the third most important benefit to them, and it weighs heavily on their decision about which company to commit to when job-hunting. In fact, vision and dental benefits, when ranked by employees, fall only behind standard health insurance and retirement plans.

Dental insurance can be both a powerful tool to attract top talent and keep your best employees onboard. If your human resources department is considering adding vision insurance to your benefits offerings, read on to learn more.

Reasons Why Employers Struggle Offering Vision:

General medical health insurance will compensate insured parties for costs related to many eye diseases or unexpected accidents. Health insurance will not, however, cover costs associated with general eye care. Maintenance costs that aren’t covered by health insurance include annual eye exams, contacts, or glasses. Comprehensive eye exams are required for all eyeglass or contacts wearers in order to renew or update their prescriptions. And even those who don’t have a current prescription should still periodically have a check-up.

Almost all very large companies (with 1,000 employees or more) offer vision insurance. Many smaller employers, on the other hand, struggle to see a return on investment in offering the benefit, and shy away from providing vision insurance. Even under the Affordable Care Act, employers are not mandated to provide vision (or dental) insurance for adults. But just because firms aren’t legally required the benefit doesn’t mean it doesn’t benefit them to have it available.

Do You Need to Offer Vision Insurance?

Employees Appreciate and Use the Benefit:

According to a study published in 2019 by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, almost three quarters of all companies offered vision insurance to their employees. The study reported that when they were offered, employees utilized the vision benefits substantially. In fact, 73 percent of employees were found to have participated in the vision plan. While it’s less than the participation rate for general medical insurance, these numbers show that employees want and need vision coverage.

Vision Insurance Provides Companies with a Healthy ROI:

If your company wants to save money on its overall claim costs, vision insurance can present an interesting benefit as a preventative measure. Employees with vision coverage are more likely to schedule an eye exam than those without coverage. Routine eye exams are a tool that licensed optometrists and ophthalmologists can use to detect abnormalities within the eye. Eye exams can serve as a tool for early detection and prevention, frequently uncovering signs of many serious health issues, including:

• Diabetes
• Glaucoma
• Cancer
• Hypertension
• High cholesterol
• Brain tumors
• And other health problems

For this reason, routine eye exams are important for the long-term health of all employees. Early detection is key in both the holistic health of a patient and in the goal to keep overall health costs down in the long run. By ramping up your ancillary benefits, like vision insurance, your company could both reduce overall coverage costs and lower the amount of paid sick leave spent on employees seeking treatment for a condition that could have been prevented or caught early through an eye exam.

As an added benefit to your organization’s ROI, consider the relation between eye strain and productivity. The Internal Agency for the Prevention of Blindness published a study with an interesting finding on the topic, reporting that vision problems, left uncorrected, may be causing anywhere from a 2.5% to a 21% decrease in productivity (depending on the particular issue). The agency found eye strain will, on average, lower an employee’s productivity by fifteen working minutes each day – amounting to 65 hours of productivity lost over the course of a year.

Costs Can Be Relatively Low for Employers:

Providing general medical insurance can be extremely costly for employers – to the tune of hundreds of dollars monthly per employee. Vision insurance, however, is much less expensive, sometimes costing as little as ten dollars monthly per worker. The cost can also be passed on to the employee themselves, who can elect to opt-in to utilize the benefit. Not all vision insurance plans require employers to pay a portion of the monthly premium; still others only require a few dollars each month from the employer. If your company wants to offer vision insurance but simply can’t make the cost work for their budget, reaching out to an employee benefits consulting expert is a great place to start.

Vision Insurance for Small Business 

Many small businesses are not required to offer medical insurance to their employees, and they’re not required to vision insurance either. However, for small businesses who recognize the long-term value of providing the benefit, obtaining coverage is relatively simple.

Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) offer an easy and affordable route to providing vision insurance. HRAs are not traditional medical insurance plans, but they can be used to help employees cover the costs of their care. To learn more about your options as a small to mid-sized employer, begin your research with the help of an experienced employee benefits consultant.

Vision Insurance for Large Corporations

All large companies (with fifty or more full time employees) must provide health care benefits under the Affordable Care Act. While dental and vision insurance is not required by federal law, most large companies still recognize the value of providing these benefits as a tool for long term cost control, employee retention and recruitment, and increasing overall employee wellness. Keeping costs low for both employers and employees can be tricky, however, and large corporations should periodically review their vision plans to make sure they’re still working for the company and its employees. To get an expert’s eye on your benefits offerings, reach out to the experienced consultants at AEIS.

AEIS: Your Partner in Employee Benefits

Considering offering vision insurance to your employees, or revamping your current plan? The best first step is reaching out to an expert. AEIS is a strategist, advocate, and advisor for businesses looking to select, optimize, and maintain the perfect employee benefits package. Contact AEIS today.