Employees see vision benefits as critical but often leave them on the table, survey finds

While employees value vision care benefits as much as dental care benefits, many of them are not finding the best ways to leverage such coverage. A new survey conducted by The Harris Poll for the digital-first vision benefits platform XP Health indicates that more than half of workers with vision care wish their employers provided more helpful information about vision benefits.

“Despite 75% of employees considering vision benefits as very important, only 42% are very satisfied, which is the standard we want our sector to achieve,” Antonio Moraes, CEO and co-founder of XP Health, says in a statement about the survey of more than 1,000 full-time employed adults in the United States with vision coverage. “That means millions of employees who deserve benefits they can rave about are not getting them, and it presents an opportunity and a responsibility for both providers and human resources professionals to help alleviate confusion and reduce costs to help employees access the highest quality care. With the emergence of remote work and eight-hour workdays in front of screens, the days when vision care was a simple ‘check the box benefit’ are gone.”

The survey, titled “The State of Vision Health 2023,” points to gaps between how people value vision care and what they are receiving. It appears that clear and accessible information from employers about what benefits exist, along with how and when to access those benefits, might help encourage enrollment and usage, researchers say.