Ohio Health Policy News

A new national study found that a quarter of children are not regularly screened for vision problems (Source: “Children’s Vision Problems Often Go Undetected, Despite Calls for Regular Screening,” Kaiser Health News, June 9).

According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, in 2016-17 one in four children were not regularly screened for vision problems.

Eye exams for children are required under federal law to be covered by most private health plans and Medicaid. Vision screenings are mandated for school-age children in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and 26 states require them for preschoolers, according to the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at the nonprofit advocacy organization Prevent Blindness (Ohio requires exams for school-age children but not preschool).

Still, many children who are struggling to see clearly are being overlooked. The pandemic has only exacerbated the issue since classes moved online, and for many students in-school vision screenings are the only time they get their eyes checked. Even when campuses reopened, school nurses were so swamped with covid testing that general screenings had to be put to the side, said Kate King, president-elect of the National Association of School Nurses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 600,000 children and teens are blind or have a vision disorder.