Aging and Low Vision

Why it matters

As our population ages, vision loss becomes more common and more costly if not caught and treated early. In older adults, untreated vision problems raise the risk of falls, cognitive decline, depression, social isolation, and loss of independence. But inevitably while changes to the eye may result in changes to vision as we age, the serious consequences of vision loss do not have to be an inevitable part of aging. Early detection, treatment, and vision rehabilitation help older adults take care of their eye health which helps them stay independent and age well, and we advocate for the policies that align with these goals.

What we're working toward

  • Rescind the Medicare low vision aid exclusion regulation, which prohibits Medicare coverage for any medical device that functions with a lens (a.k.a., the “lens exclusion”).
  • Strengthen vision and eye health services offered through Older Americans Act programs and aging networks, specifically the early detection of eye disease and support for those with vision loss.
  • Expand the research linking visual function and eye health, cognitive health and decline, and strengthen the understanding of the interconnectedness of vision health and mental health.

Low Vision & Assistive Devices

Low vision, which affects visual functioning and can’t be corrected with standard eyeglasses or surgery, affects millions of older adults. As of 2009, Medicare excludes low vision aids and devices from coverage under a longstanding policy known as “the lens exclusion” because devices that enhance visibility such as screen readers, magnifiers, prisms, or minifiers are not considered to be “medically necessary” under Medicare. Medicare does cover lenses in certain medical cases, such as the intraocular lens implanted during cataract surgery. This policy gap leaves patients with the out-of-pocket costs for the instruments they need to stay independent, and the rehabilitation services to learn how to adapt to life with a low vision aid.

Our Priorities

  • Reverse Medicare’s lens exclusion so low vision aids and devices are covered in addition to the visual rehabilitation and device training that patients need to learn how to use them.
  • Create a pathway for individual coverage of low vision devices and low vision rehabilitation services.

Advocacy in Action

  • Prevent Blindness is a member of the Independence Through the Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid (ITEM) Coalition, which routinely advocates Congress and the Administration to rescind the “lens exception” and create an individual pathway to coverage for low vision aids and devices.
  • Joined the ITEM Coalition’s 2026 request to CMS to rescind the Medicare Low Vision Aid Exclusion and allow coverage of low vision devices.
  • Asked the Congressional Vision Caucus co-chairs to urge CMS to rescind the Low Vision Aid Exclusion.

The Older Americans Act

The Older Americans Act (OAA) supports millions of older adults aged 60 and older who face the greatest economic and social need through nutrition, caregiving, and health promotion programs through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s Administration for Community Living (ACL). With respect to vision and eye health, the OAA offers evidence-based prevention and health promotion services, including vision screenings for eye disease offered through state and community networks. Congress needs to continually reauthorize funding for the OAA to ensure that these programs can continue helping seniors age well in their communities and homes.

Our Priorities

  • Build awareness of vision health services offered through OAA programs across the aging services network.
  • Integrate vision into chronic disease and falls prevention activities.

Vision Loss & Cognitive Decline

Research shows a strong correlation between vision impairment and cognitive decline, dementia, and lower quality of life.  But our health care system is catching up to this relationship, and more needs to be done to help older adults access the right interventions to help protect their vision for the sake of their cognitive health. Protecting healthy vision in older adults may help protect cognition, too, which yields positive health outcomes and quality of life in older adults.

Our Priorities

  • Expand research on the vision and cognition connection through NIH and CDC.
  • Promote early detection and treatment of age-related eye disease as part of dementia prevention.
  • Encourage aging programs to include sensory health in care planning.

Advocacy in Action

  • Prevent Blindness is a member of the Brain Health Coalition, which makes the connection between vision loss to neurological disorders that impair cognition and offers policy solutions to bridge research to patient access.
  • Supported NEI research linking vision health and brain health.
  • Elevated emerging evidence on vision and cognitive decline.

Mental health, isolation, and vision loss

Losing vision can take an emotional toll at any age, but it hits older adults especially hard. Vision loss is linked to depression, anxiety, loneliness, and social isolation, and isolation in turn worsens overall health. Early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation don’t just protect sight; they help people stay connected and independent, giving them a better quality of life at every stage of their eye health. Ensuring that the right mental health and community supports are provided to patients at the point of care means building a system of support for older adults to thrive, even when faced with the mental and emotional toll of adapting to vision loss.

Healthy Aging & Vision

Vision loss is too often treated as something to accept with the coming of age, but early detection and treatment can prevent many serious eye diseases from progressing. Too often, vision and eye health is an afterthought in broader policies that promote healthy aging, and we work to change that.

Our Priorities

  • Promote falls prevention strategies that include assessment of visual function.
  • Support federal investment in aging research that addresses vision health, including early detection of eye diseases associated with aging and treatments to slow the progression of blinding eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and others.

Take action

Help make healthy vision part of healthy aging.

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