Contact lenses and glasses always represent an important expense for the savings of families that include a member with visual health problems. With the focus on the needs of citizens, the Government of Spain has announced that both glasses and contact lenses will become part of the benefits covered by Social Security. This novelty translates into savings for citizens who every so often have to make an important design to cover the expense at the opticians.
The purpose of this measure is none other than that people do not have to make a disbursement from their own money in those cases in which it is necessary, and thus it can provide economic relief for all those Spanish families who had to pay for the acquisition of new glasses.
The measure will therefore mean great savings, but at the same time it will ensure that the most disadvantaged have access to visual care, something important given that myopia is one of the most common eye problems among young people, affecting 55, 33% of those who are between 18 and 34 years old and reaching 62.3% of university students. The first estimates suggest that 30 million citizens could benefit from this aid.
The arrival of this benefit will mean significant savings for citizens, taking into account that the average price of complete glasses (frame for prescription glasses and two ophthalmic lenses) is 197.35 euros, and that the average cost of contact lenses It amounts to about 120 euros. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that daily contact lenses are the best sellers and that, in Spain, more and more people are opting for this alternative, being the fifth European country with the highest degree of penetration of this optical item.
Requirements and beneficiaries of free Social Security glasses and contact lenses
At the moment, the Government of Spain has not provided specific data on the implementation of this measure, so we will have to wait for its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) to be able to know the exact dates of its implementation. However, the Minister of Health, Mónica García, has stated that her intention is for glasses and contact lenses to be free through Social Security from this year 2024, and in any case, before the end of the current legislature.
Regarding the requirements and beneficiaries of this measure, which will place Spain at the forefront of European healthcare, they have not been revealed either, but if we take into account what has happened in other countries that already include the costs of glasses and lenses contact in their social benefits, we can get an idea of where this help can be focused.
In France, citizens are offered the possibility of enjoying a free glasses renewal plan every two years at a limited price for those over 16 years of age, while in the United Kingdom special bonuses have been created for minors. age, students and people with reduced income, so that they have the possibility of paying for these visual health items.
For its part, in Germany contact lenses and glasses are free for children under 18 years of age, as well as for all adults who are diagnosed with a “serious” visual problem. In this way, it is expected that in Spain a similar formula will be chosen, so that the main beneficiaries may be minors.
