I’m sure it is, but the article says it’s rolling it out across England and they have socialized medicine so I’m thinking it can’t be that expensive. Maybe even about the same price as cateract surgery? Let’s hope!
Considering how OAPs are treated in the UK, and how hard it is to find openings in assisted living facilities there, my bet is that the UK realized this may be cheaper than providing a higher level of care for pensioners. Even so, bet there will be a very long waiting line for treatment.
An IOL is the standard implant, Intraocular Lens in 2015 was $2,178 per eye, it has issues, it does not fix astigmatism, in many people it causes it, then you have Dry Eye Syndrome to contend with. Yes that is part and parcel with cataract implants, and you still need glasses. If you are Medicare there is just the IOL available, and you are not able to upgrade. Then the issue of finding a good surgeon comes into play. Get the wrong one, you are asking for TROUBLE. Do your research, never use an Optometrist, for eye health, it’s not their field. Have eye issues start with a Othomologist, he/she will then send you to the cornea, retina specialist if necessary.
Lasix is $5K just had it done to correct the wrong cataract implant in the left eye, and make both eyes see at the same distance and strength, and get rid of the astigmatism the cataract implants gave me. I will still need multi-focal glasses as age only lets them correct so far, and while he got 95% of the astigmatism he was not able to get it all. Early May is target date for actually getting glasses IF the idiots don’t mess up the lens when they order and cut them, see the Othomologist in a couple of weeks for my refraction. But DRY EYE SYNDROME doubled, it is the down side of Lasix. That and it is only good for 10 yrs. Even with out glasses I see better up close than I did with glasses since the eyes are now considered healed. It is a rougher procedure than Cataract implants, you are totally awake and can smell the ‘hair’ burning smell when they shave off the top of the cornea cover just leaving it barely attached. 30 mins in most cases. They give you 10 mg of Valium, which is a joke as a relaxer.
Treating Dry Eye Syndrome is a life time issue that can turn into an infection easily.