Vision insurance

Even as employers increasingly shift the cost of these programs on to employees through voluntary plans, workers are seeing value in them.

Commentary: Many employers are struggling to get employees to enroll in voluntary programs; busy workers often don’t take the time to understand what’s being offered.

Advisers who excel in the vision field do the best job of making the connection between vision and medical plans, some experts say. Shannon Enders, a founding partner at Lakeshore Employee Benefits in Norton Shores, Mich., says when he brings the idea of connecting vision and health data to clients’ attention, “they quickly become very interested.”

An aging workforce, coupled with demands for the latest eyewear fashions, is putting pressure on employer-sponsored vision benefits.

Vision and dental benefits can be harnessed to play a larger role in employee health than the sum of their parts.

Employees have their eyes set on vision insurance, as sales have increased close to 25% since 2013 and are leading the pack in worksite voluntary sales growth.

Aflac says it will now pay out certain voluntary benefit claims in one business day, an announcement that industry experts say will likely force competitors to follow suit.

The departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services today published final rules amending the definition of excepted benefits to include certain limited coverage that wraps around individual health insurance.

Everyone knows healthier employees are more productive employees, and focusing on wellness can help achieve that goal. But there are two things vital to us all missing from the equation: vision and hearing.

The consultancy’s Web portal enables a variety of plans to be offered by employers, who are cutting back on benefits for retirees.

Companies that make data-driven decisions are more likely to be stronger performers than those that make more instinct-driven decisions.

It was just a year ago that VSP Global and Google, Inc. teamed up to offer Google Glass prescription lenses and frames at a subsidized price. But Google Glass’s announcement last week that it was halting sales of the product raises questions about VSP’s future role.