Cataract/vision question

[alfadog]

Hi. So I am 65 and my vision is feeling it. I got my PPL back when I was 23, started my commercial, and stupidly let myself get talked out of aviation as a career. I rekindled my love of it in 2010 at the age of 57 and, in 2012, gave up my "career" as a civil engineer to do airplane stuff. I am having a great time with my new career line; A&P since 2015, IR this year and working on my commercial. But...

A year or two ago, I could not make the vision requirements for Class 2 medical (20-20 corrected). Just tried again with a new prescription and I can almost make 20-20 in my right eye but even 20-30 is a stretch in my left. I have a "young" cataract in my left eye. I get a bit of a halo and some blurring that cannot be corrected with glasses. I am getting some input that insurance will not cover surgery at this stage, that the condition has to be more severe. I would rather not pay for it out-of-pocket. I am on Medicare with a basic Part B.

Looking for some advice from folks that are more knowledgeable than me on this. And that doesn't have to be very knowledgeable so any advice is welcome

 

[JOhnH]

Hi. So I am 65 and my vision is feeling it. I got my PPL back when I was 23, started my commercial, and stupidly let myself get talked out of aviation as a career. I rekindled my love of it in 2010 at the age of 57 and, in 2012, gave up my "career" as a civil engineer to do airplane stuff. I am having a great time with my new career line; A&P since 2015, IR this year and working on my commercial. But...

A year or two ago, I could not make the vision requirements for Class 2 medical (20-20 corrected). Just tried again with a new prescription and I can almost make 20-20 in my right eye but even 20-30 is a stretch in my left. I have a "young" cataract in my left eye. I get a bit of a halo and some blurring that cannot be corrected with glasses. I am getting some input that insurance will not cover surgery at this stage, that the condition has to be more severe. I would rather not pay for it out-of-pocket. I am on Medicare with a basic Part B.

Looking for some advice from folks that are more knowledgeable than me on this. And that doesn't have to be very knowledgeable so any advice is welcome

I'm in a very similar situation. But the cataract is not affecting my career.
If it were, I would pay for the surgery.
I expect that mine will be severe enough in a year or two for Medicare to cover it. But even if it doesn't, and if I can still afford it, I will pay to have it corrected. Quality of life is important too.

 

[weilke]

Ask the ophthalmologist to do 'BAT testing' and to document that result along with a detailed note of how your cataracts affect your work and limit your activities of daily living. The keyword you want to remember for this conversation is 'disabling glare'.