02-06-2021

In case of vision disorders, it is worth taking interest in the services paid by the Health Insurance Fund

The patients who have vision problems are asking Siauliai Territorial Health Insurance Fund what medical services may be compensated from the budget of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (CHIF).

We would like to remind that if you want to check the visual acuity or if you start feeling the first symptoms of vision disorders, you should get the appointment with the general practitioner, first of all. The general practitioners have to carry out preventive check-ups of vision of pre-school and school-age children every year. The visual acuity and intraocular pressure are checked for 19-40 years old persons once in two years. The vision of 41-65 years old persons is checked once in two years, intraocular pressure – once a year, and from the age of 65, the vision s checked every year. If broader examination is needed, the patient is referred to ophthalmologist.

If the insured persons have a referral, they may choose the specialist doctor in any medical institution that has a contract with the Health Insurance Fund. The doctor referring for the ophthalmologist’s consultation has to inform the patient, where such services are provided and to indicate at least three institutions. The information about the institutions that have the aforementioned contracts is available here. We urge the residents to learn, where it is possible to get appointment with the specialist in shorter time and in which institution the queues are the shortest.

When the patient is undergoing treatment in inpatient facility, the necessary drugs and medical aids (MA) have to be bought by the medical institutions and used for treatment, so the patients do not have to buy neither the drugs nor MA. The medical institutions have to inform the patients about their rights and possibilities to get certain service free of charge.

The residents often ask the specialists of the Health Insurance Fund whether they have to pay for the crystalline lens that is replaced. When answering this question, the specialists stress that the medicaments, MA and crystalline lenses needed for the surgery are covered from the CHIF budget, thus, no additional payments for the lens are required.

We would like to remind you that the persons, who have vision problems, may be entitled to compensation of lenses for their eyeglasses, too. The CHIF covers the price of these lenses for children and adult patents when the ophthalmologist determines that the visual acuity of the eye that sees better with complete correction does not exceed 0,4 visual acuity. The lenses for eyeglasses for children according to the doctors’ prescriptions may be compensated not more than once in a year, and in case of adult patients – once in two years.

The lenses for eyeglasses are prescribed because of various diseases that cause vision problems: lens diseases, diseases of choroid and retina, glaucoma, diseases of vitreous body and eyeball, diseases of optic nerve and ion channels, ocular muscles, accommodation and refraction disorders, cornea transplant, etc.

When the ophthalmologist issues the prescription for compensated lenses for eyeglasses, the patients should go to the optics that have contracts with territorial health insurance funds.

CHIF budget is also used to compensate the drugs for glaucoma or inflammation of blood-vessels in the eye (uveitis).

The drugs of biological therapy for inflammation of blood-vessels in the eye (uveitis) are also compensated. These drugs are prescribed by the ophthalmologist, who is providing medical services of the third level.

The ocular prostheses are also compensated for the persons, who have compulsory health insurance. The basic price of the ocular prostheses compensated from the CHIF budget amounts to 520 euro at present.

The NHIF invites you:

Your questions are welcome by email [email protected] or phone: local (8 5) 232 2222, international +370 5 232 2222.