EyeMed Vision Care, one of the nation's leading vision benefits companies and part of Luxottica (NYSE: LUX), a leader in vision care and eyewear, introduces a new Diabetic Eye Care benefit that provides follow-up care and supplementary diagnostic testing for patients with diabetes, a leading cause of adult blindness.

The EyeMed Diabetic Eye Care benefit allows patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes to receive additional services from their eye care provider. Under this new benefit, patients can receive office service visits every six months to monitor for signs of diabetic complications.

In addition, diagnostic testing is covered by the EyeMed Diabetes Eye Care benefit every six months. This may include photodocumentation of diabetic retinal findings or laser scanning to detect the earliest stages of swelling of the retina.

"Diabetes can create complications throughout the body, and the eye is a key area that needs to be monitored closely, especially for those patients diagnosed with diabetes," said John Lahr, O.D., FAAO, medical director at EyeMed Vision Care. "The eye is the only place in the body where blood vessels can be easily viewed and monitored without invasive procedures. Since diabetes is associated with changes to the small vessels in the body, eye complications associated with diabetes can serve as a warning that other organs in the body with small vessels may be at risk for diabetic complications."

EyeMed President Liz DiGiandomenico said the Diabetic Eye Care benefit is just one component of EyeMed's larger vision wellness program and an important complement to an employer's care management strategy.

"The eye health and vision wellness of our membership is a priority at EyeMed, and we know it's a priority for our clients. We consider regular, comprehensive eye exams to be as important as medical health screenings, a healthy diet and exercise. We'll continue to invest in and roll out enhancements to our vision wellness program supporting the needs of our employers."

EyeMed clients may elect to add the Diabetic Eye Care services for members with diabetes as an option to the EyeMed vision benefit. While the benefit is not designed to replace a member's medical coverage, it allows another opportunity to fund additional care for diabetic members.

About EyeMed Vision Care

Mason, Ohio-based EyeMed Vision Care is one of the nation's leading vision benefits organizations, with more than 30 million funded members, through 7,600 employers, healthcare companies and membership organizations across the United States. In addition, EyeMed supports vision discount programs for some of the nation's largest membership and managed care organizations, bringing vision outreach to more than 140 million lives. Innovation, choice and convenience drives EyeMed's commitment to eye health and vision wellness as it works with its plan sponsors to incorporate vision as part of an overall healthcare benefits program. EyeMed members have access to thousands of private practice and retail-affiliated doctors and dispensing locations nationwide.

EyeMed Vision Care
Maury Williams, 513-765-3527
E-mail: mwillia5@eyemedvisioncare.com