Medicare ruling gives cataract patients access to new lenses

Seniors undergoing cataract surgery may now pay privately for a lens that corrects eyesight at all distances. Previously, Medicare reimbursements covered only less expensive lenses with a single focus, which meant most cataract patients still needed eyeglasses following surgery.

Crystalens is the first intraocular lens, or IOL, for cataracts that provides accommodation — a full range of functional vision from distance to reading vision. Crystalens is a new technology that is designed to mimic the eye’s natural ability to focus on distant, middle, and near objects.

"This is a big victory for Medicare patients, who will no longer be barred from receiving the best technology," said U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., in a news release. More than 2.2 million cataract surgeries are performed each year.

"Patients tell me they see better than they have in years," said Paul Cutarelli, M.D., who says his patients are amazed at their vision following cataract surgery with Crystalens. "For some, this is the best vision they’ve had since they were children."

Medicare still will not pay the full cost of cataract surgery with these newer lenses, such as Crystalens. Patients pay the difference in cost between the original technology and the new technology.

About Paul Cutarelli, M.D.
Paul E. Cutarelli, M.D., is one of the most experienced vision correction specialists in the United States. He has performed most of his more than 40,000 procedures in Colorado. He is one of only a handful of surgeons to have completed a full one-year training fellowship in refractive surgery, as well as a fellowship in corneal surgery. He has served as co-investigator on more than 15 clinical trials for refractive surgery and presbyopia.

To view or film a Crystalens procedure, please contact Mary Theobald at 816-331-5191.