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In the last few years, many glaucoma patients who use eye drop medications have been faced with more stringent restrictions on their prescriptions.
Insurance companies now impose limits on quantities of eye drops and refill intervals. However, many patients have trouble putting in exactly one drop, precisely onto the eye.
It is natural to have some drops hit your cheek occasionally or to have two drops come out at once. This unavoidable waste of drops is one reason that some patients run out of their drops too soon.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Glaucoma Society have been hard at work, meeting with insurers and Medicare officials to ensure that glaucoma patients receive the medications they need to prevent vision loss from glaucoma. Because of these efforts, recent memos issued from Medicare have instructed insurers to allow refills of eye drops at reasonable intervals.
If you have been denied necessary medication or timely refills of your prescription eye drops, here are some steps you can take.
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Article by Cynthia Mattox, MD, Vice Chair and Director of the Glaucoma Service at New England Eye Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston MA. Dr. Mattox serves on the American Academy of Ophthalmology Health Policy Committee, and the American Glaucoma Society Patient Care Committee.
Last reviewed on October 29, 2017