California kids and Seniors are going without vision care, and the problem is getting worse
California kids are going without vision care, and the problem is getting worse | KPBS Public Media Blind Spots: How Broken Insurance Leaves Millions of Americans Without the Vision Care They Need From schoolchildren misdiagnosed as behavioral problems to seniors who cannot read their medication labels, the gap between what is legally required and what is actually delivered is widening – with consequences for learning, independence, and quality of life. New technology offers partial bridges across this gap, but system reform remains essential. BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUF): America faces a compounding vision care crisis. Myopia now affects an estimated 36% of U.S. children and is projected to worsen, yet only 16% of Medi-Cal-enrolled California children saw an eye doctor between 2022 and 2024. The coverage system is structurally broken at both ends of the age spectrum: Medicaid mandates eye care for children but provider reimbursement rates are so low that on...