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Have you considered the financial impact of offering employee vision care plans? While these benefits come with a cost, many employers typically see an immediate return through improved productivity and early disease detection.
In addition to improving optometry patient outcomes, early disease detection makes treatment easier and more affordable in the long term.
That’s why employers should prioritize vision coverage when evaluating and upgrading benefit packages. By making vision health more accessible, you can help employees get early access to treatment and lessen the impact of eye health problems in the workplace.
The Financial Impact of Employee Vision Care Plans
Did you know that an eye exam can diagnose more than 16 different diseases? Among these conditions, you’ll find cataracts (affecting more than 20.5 million Americans over 40), glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and more. Eye exams can also reveal early signs of diabetes and cancer.
For patients, early detection results in lower costs because treatment is much more affordable in the early stages of a disease. In fact, cancer screenings alone have helped patients save a combined $6.5 trillion over the past 25 years.
ROI Analysis of Employee Vision Plans
Guide your decision by approaching vision benefits as an investment with measurable returns.
How Much Do Vision Plans Cost?
There is an enterprise vision plan for every budget. The factors to consider include coverage, network, and out-of-pocket expenses.
You will typically find the most value with pre-paid vision plans. These products lower the cost of exams and treatments thanks to negotiated group discounts and usually cost less than insurance premiums.
How Much Can You Save?
Vision plans can help you save in multiple areas:
- Early detection means lower ongoing treatment costs for employees. For instance, managing type 2 diabetes can easily cost over $22,000 a year. However, it’s possible to reverse this condition in most patients if diagnosed in time.
- Better eye health can lead to fewer missed days of work. Experts believe absenteeism costs $225 million a year.
- With $530 billion in estimated annual costs linked to poor employee health, vision care provides value for employers by improving overall employee health. Digital eye strain alone can be a productivity killer.
Long-Term Benefits
Employee vision care plans have additional benefits besides reducing health costs:
- Healthcare costs keep going up, with a 7% increase in 2024. Offering vision care benefits makes sense, given the aging population and the high rate of refractive errors in children and teens.
- Unhappy workers could cost the economy as much as $1.9 trillion a year. A better benefits package can go a long way to improving satisfaction, engagement, and productivity at work.
- A third of hiring managers expect employee turnover to increase in 2024, a troubling issue that can cost tens of thousands of dollars per year due to lost productivity and hiring costs. You can reverse this trend by offering better benefits and creating a positive company culture where employees feel valued.
Support Employee Eye Health With VCD
Support early disease detection and improve employee health with vision care. This benefit will boost productivity and happiness at work, and you can maximize your ROI by opting for our affordable prepaid plans.
Vision Care Direct of Oklahoma offers flexible and affordable vision care solutions. We provide prepaid vision plans that facilitate access to eye exams and other services. The costs are transparent, and your employees have access to an extensive local network of providers.
Find out more about how VCD can help update your benefits package.
