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Hoosiers will suffer under new Medicaid cuts
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The statistics are daunting: nearly half a million Hoosiers have diabetes and another quarter million go undiagnosed. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults and each year thousands lose their sight because of diabetes. Medical costs for a person with diabetes annually are $12,000 compared to $3,000 for someone without the debilitating disease.
These figures are from the Indiana Department of Health and don’t include the immeasurable cost of pain, suffering and loss of independence.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 percent of all children and adolescents have a visual impairment. Excluding the financial cost, the lifetime proven cost of diminishment of academic and social skills is unparalleled.
Now, patient access for critically needed eye care services has been jeopardized by
If Indiana Optometrists stop seeing Medicaid patients in outlying communities, patients will be burdened with traveling long distances for care, or dangerously stop getting necessary eye care. Just a few examples from our own IOA members indicate patients from
Optometrists provide the exact same primary eye care services as do Opthalmologists. However, Ophthalmologists are found in fewer locations across the state and very few of them dispense eye wear.
Perhaps Medicaid’s cost savings through denial of access actually equals short sightedness for long term savings; eye disease prevention, preservation of independence for seniors and a brighter future for children already at risk of learning challenges.
Studies finding inadequate physician-provided specialty care to children on public assistance:
New England Journal of Medicine (June 16, 2011):
US Gov't Accountability Office (June 30, 2011):
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