Everyone is aware Washington D.C. is riddled with bureaucratic red tape and political gridlock but it appears as if eye care plans got the short end of the stick in the final version of the Affordable Care Act.
Vision plans were originally intended to be part of the exchanges when the ACA was being drafted, says Rob Lynch, chief executive of VSP Global, a vision plan that covers eye care for 67 million Americans. Lawmakers became concerned about how subsidies to help people afford coverage would be split among medical, dental, and visual providers, so glasses got left out.
Now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, responsible for overseeing the Obamacare exchanges, published an official document confirming that stand-alone vision plans can’t be offered on the health exchanges.
Regardless of the fact that vision is not included in the ACA, a further point of contention lies in the eye care plans still being subject to the tax on health insurers.
The sheer hilarity of the situation is summed up in a recent Bloomberg article, which details they reached out the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for an initial comment that was declined.
The spokeswoman for the company was kind enough to pass the inquiry along to the IRS who then referred questions to the Treasury Department that then furnished the response: “Consistent with the statute, stand-alone vision care plans are considered health insurance and therefore subject to the fee.”
VSP Global isn’t even all that upset about having to pay a tax, they simply want the opportunity to be listed on the marketplaces and more importantly provide their current and potential clients with adequate coverages.
“We don’t have an issue with the legislation,” said Lynch. “As a matter of fact, we supported the legislation. We don’t even have a problem paying the tax. We just want to participate.”
Fortunately several states including Colorado, Nevada and Hawaii have found ways to incorporate vision coverages in their state-run exchanges. Lynch has been lobbying California as well but it remains to be seen how other regions will address this outstanding issue.
