More patients will be eligible for eyeglass lens reimbursements from the 1st of June, the office of Social Affairs and Public Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke announced on Sunday.
Until now, lenses were reimbursed if their optical power was 8.25 dioptres or more, whatever the patient's age. That threshold will now be lowered to 7.75 dioptres for adults, while it will be reduced from 8 to 7.5 dioptres for children and teenagers under 18 years old and people above 65.
"Good sight is essential at all ages," Minister Vandenbroucke commented. "Eye glasses ill-suited to a person's vision or not having spectacles when one needs them could bring on other health problems, like migraines for example."
"Myopia in children that is not, or insufficiently, corrected (…) can have a significant impact on the rhythm of learning at school," he added.
Some 23,500 persons stand to benefit from the modification, which will add €1.6 million per year to the budget.
The Brussels Times
