UnitedHealth Group Offers Remote, Low Cost Access to Eyewear

UnitedHealth Group is expanding access to vision care by enabling members to purchase eyewear remotely at low cost, the payer announced.

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This constitutes the first agreement that UnitedHealth Group has signed with an online eyewear retailer.

Eligible members can browse thousands of glasses styles and brands to fill their glasses prescription.

Members of UnitedHealth Group’s employer-sponsored health plans or individual health insurance market vision plans are able to access this benefit. For eligible members, the copay is around $25 or less. Shipping is also free.

UnitedHealth Group’s partner, GlassesUSA.com, allows members to try out different glasses styles with a virtual mirror. If members do not know their prescription, they can scan their current pair of glasses using the online platform’s scanner which will identify the prescription for them. The partnership also boasts product price transparency.

Members can add certain features for free such as layering on anti-reflective and scratch resistant coatings. Some members may customize their glasses even further, adding blue light blocking, for example.

While UnitedHealth Group did not cite explicitly coronavirus-related motivations for this decision, the organization did allude to ways in which the disease has increased demand for such benefits.

“People are increasingly looking to access health care resources remotely, so this new network relationship offers UnitedHealthcare plan participants improved convenience and affordability while shopping for eyewear online,” said John Ryan, general manager of UnitedHealthcare Vision.

Early on in the crisis, the American Academy of Ophthalmology called attention to the role that eye care played in the spread and prevention of coronavirus. The public has been enjoined to avoid touching the face and particularly the eyes, with ophthalmologists going so far as to recommend choosing glasses over contact lenses during the crisis.

The Academy has more recently released guidelines to help ophthalmology practices that are determining whether or not to reopen their offices. The guidance notes that, with the continued lack of a vaccine, ophthamologists will likely continue to see fewer patients than usual.

Ophthalmologists will also need to reform their surgical practices to guard against the spread of coronavirus, which will elongate the time between surgeries and lead to fewer surgical procedures overall.

“Presuming compliance with state and local regulations, the Academy recommends resumption of normal activities be undertaken gradually, in order to accommodate these and other as yet unforeseen issues,” the guidance explained.

All of these factors mean both that patients could adopt new eye care practices as well as require new ways of connecting with their eye care providers apart from in-person visits.

The coronavirus has already had an impact on members’ vision care behaviors. Consumers are 39.6 percent likely to postpone or cancel any eyewear purchases until the coronavirus threat passes, according to The Vision Council’s online survey of over 11,000 Americans in April 2020. This pertained particularly to those who wear eye glasses.

Adult consumers also stated that they are 36.3 percent likely to postpone their eye exams and visits during the coronavirus pandemic. Respondents slightly more likely to cancel their children’s eye exams and visits (36.9 percent).

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, payers may consider new partnerships that will bolster quality of their remote vision care.

UnitedHealth Group also has been actively combatting coronavirus in more direct ways.

In March, UnitedHealth Group made waves by releasing its self-administered coronavirus test.

The payer also increased members’ access to telehealth and videoconferencing care by allowing in-network providers to connect with patients through video platforms.

UnitedHealth Group also donated $60 million to support healthcare workers, seniors, and other populations who are directly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Even as states, communities, and providers ease coronavirus-related restrictions, payers will have to stay aware of the continued impact coronavirus can have on benefits like vision care.