Fat gets a bad rap, especially in the news as the risks of obesity continues to plague the mindset of the average American. We’re surrounded by news and medical research that tells us no fat is good fat! However, that’s not true. Omega 3 fatty acids offers your body the necessary fat it needs to improve your overall health and even your vision.

Now, we’re not saying go get your essential fat by eating a cheeseburger or downing a super-sized French fry basket. Let us be more clear: fatty acids are the “building blocks” of fat. It’s an important nutrient that’s critical for the normal production and functioning of cells, muscles, nerves, and organs. Fatty acids are also required for the production of hormone-like compounds that help regulate blood pressure, heart rate, and blood clotting.

So how does all of this effect your vision? A number of studies revealed that Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal infant vision development.

DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids are found in maternal breast milk and also are added to some supplemented infant formulas. Omega-3 supplemental formulas appear to stimulate vision development in infants.

With healthcare rising and insurance benefits becoming more costly, companies are looking to cut costs and tend to see vision care as an unecessary expense.

However, the benefits of eye vision insurance vastly outweigh the cost of the insurance plan. If your company has cut your vision insurance, here are some benefits to acquiring an individual plan.

Why It’s Important

A national survey found that vision disorders are the second most prevalent health condition in the United States. In fact, 11 million Americans live with uncorrected vision problems.Two-thirds of Americans state they would be more willing to get an eye exam if they had insurance coverage. Also, 63% of Americans would sign up for vision care coverage if given the opportunity. As one of the five senses, your eyes affect more of your health than you may imagine. In fact, 80% of the brain is associated with vision in some capacity. A healthy brain requires healthy eye sight. Seeking a proper vision coverage plan is the first step to ensuring that you have correct vision throughout your entire life.

What Kinds of Plans Are Available?

There are multiple types of vision insurance packages available. You can choose either a benefits package or a discount package is designed for eye care and eyewear. A vision benefits package works much like health care insurance. For instance, the coverage includes eye exams in which you pay only a co-payment at the time of service. In a vision discount plan, you pay for the services in full but you receive discounted rates for the services provided by the plan’s participating eye care practitioners. Whether you intend to go with a benefits package or a discount plan, you receive access to a network of eye care providers and specific eye care services and products. For this reason, it’s important to not only evaluate the features of both packages, but also the eye care provider network and the services offered.

How to Choose the Right Plan

To decide which plan is best for you, start by conducting a research of your family history from the past two years. What kinds of eye care services have you and your family utilized in the past. Also, it’s important to note how many times each of these services have been used by any family member.

Then, take a look at a number of plans and ask yourself:

1. Which plan provides the best services and product to meet my needs?
2. Which plans saves me the most money?
3. Does that plan provide quality assurance mechanisms and easy-to-follow grievance procedures.

To learn more about the benefits of eye care coverage, contact the professionals at Val-Uvision today. We’ll be happy to review the benefits of each package with you to help you decide what is right for you and your family.