AZ Blue Best Life Classic (HMO): Vision Care

Routine vision exams help to identify vision changes that may require prescription adjustments, of course, but they can also detect many other things—early sight loss, dry eye syndrome, astigmatism, corneal complications, cataracts, threats to the optic nerve, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and damage from diabetes.  For more on these eye conditions, search our library catalog.

Many people believe that they see just fine, and perhaps they do.  Most do not know, however, that they have actually lost their ability to see clearly at very close range or at farther distances.  They may have also become so accustomed to issues with their eyes, that they have learned workarounds and accepted their difficulties as normal.  Some eye complications, including serious threats to vision and eye health, are unknown until there is an irreversible problem and can only be caught early through a professional eye exam.  Finally, modifiable factors that contribute to vision disturbances, such as certain medical conditions and medications, can also be addressed.

The plan covers several vision care needs.

• 1 routine eye exam every year

  • Includes glaucoma screening for those at high risk (family history, diabetes, African Americans aged 50 and older, Hispanic Americans aged 65 and older)

  • Includes diabetic retinopathy screening for those with diabetes

• 1 eye exam every two years for the purpose of getting corrective lenses

• One pair of standard* eyeglasses (frames and lenses) OR contact lenses every year, but not both

• Physician services (ophthalmology) for diagnosis and treatment of disease and injuries of the eye, including treatment for age-related macular degeneration

• One pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses after each cataract surgery that includes insertion of an intraocular lens

  • If there are two separate cataract operations, the benefit cannot be reserved after the first surgery and two pairs of eyeglasses purchased after the second surgery

*Standard eyewear: eyeglasses include single-vision, bifocals, and trifocals; this excludes specialty lenses such as transition, tint, progressive, or polycarbonate; contact lenses include standard daily wear, extended daily wear, disposables, toric, or rigid gas permeable.

Coverage includes the replacement of lost or destroyed glasses and the repair or replacement of parts.