Essential eye-care tips and benefits

Why looking after your eyes is so important

Healthy eyes don’t just help you see clearly, they’re also key to your overall well-being. Protecting your eyes from strain, UV exposure, and injury helps preserve your vision as you age and keeps you confident and focused at work, school, and home.

Regular eye check-ups: more important than you think

Eye exams do far more than determine if you need glasses or contact lenses. They can pick up early signs of serious health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, glaucoma, and high cholesterol – often before you notice any symptoms.

During a thorough eye test, your optometrist checks for issues such as:

• Glaucoma: increased pressure in the eye that damages the optic nerve
  
• Diabetic retinopathy: caused by high blood sugar affecting the retina
  
• Cataracts: a clouding of the eye’s lens that blurs vision
  
• Changes in blood vessels that may indicate hypertension or cholesterol problems

Many people experience natural changes in their eyesight as they get older. While this can be unsettling, most vision problems are common and easy to manage once diagnosed. These include:

• Short-sightedness (myopia): trouble seeing far away
  
• Long-sightedness (hyperopia): difficulty seeing up close
  
• Astigmatism: blurred vision from an irregularly shaped cornea
  
• Presbyopia: age-related near-focus difficulty, usually starting in your 40s

Most of these conditions can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or in some cases, laser (refractive) surgery.

How your medical aid helps protect your eye health

Most medical aids offer optical benefits to help you maintain healthy vision throughout your life. These usually include:

• Routine eye tests (every year or two, depending on your medical aid provider)
  
• An allowance for glasses or contact lenses, often every 24 months
  
• Screening tests for conditions like glaucoma or diabetic eye disease
  
• Cover for procedures such as refractive surgery or corneal transplants on certain medical aid providers and your chosen plan (usually with pre-authorisation).

However, it’s important to understand how your specific plan works. Some medical aids pay optical costs from your day-to-day limit or savings, while others pay from risk benefits, so your day-to-day limit or savings aren’t affected.

Another key factor is provider networks. Medical aids often work with selected optometry networks. Visiting a network optometrist ensures full cover within your benefits. Choosing someone outside the network may lead to co-payments or rejected claims.

Make the most of your optical benefits

A little planning can help you stretch your benefits further:

• Book regular eye tests, even if your vision feels stable.
  
• Choose a network optometrist to avoid unexpected costs.
  
• Ask for quotes when selecting frames and lenses to stay within your benefit limits.
  
• Note the optical benefit cycle as it is mostly a 24-month cycle.
  
• Get pre-authorisation where needed, especially for surgery or specialised tests

How Medshield supports you as your partner for life

At Medshield Medical Scheme, we understand that eye health is a key part of your overall well-being. Our 2026 benefits have been updated to make vision care easier and more affordable for all members.

Here is what you can expect for 2026 from your Medshield Medical Scheme optical benefits:

• Annual eye tests for all beneficiaries: every beneficiary can have one comprehensive eye test per year, covered from risk (not your day-to-day or savings). It is important to note that most schemes offer a test every two years as their general eye test benefit.

• Higher optical limits: most plans now offer increased frame and/or lens limits for each beneficiary for 2026. For example, R5,200 on MediValue, R5,700 on MediPlus, and R6,200 on MediSaver – ensuring better access to quality eyewear.

• Per-beneficiary benefits: each member has their own optical limit, rather than sharing a family pool.

• Preventive screening: Glaucoma testing and diabetic retinal scans are now included in several options, supporting early detection of chronic eye conditions.

• Refractive surgery support: selected options cover up to R36,500 per family for procedures like LASIK, subject to authorisation.

If you are unsure about your specific benefits, you can visit www.medshield.co.za or contact the Medshield call centre. By staying on top of eye exams and making smart use of your medical aid, you can protect your vision and keep your eyes healthy for years to come.