STATISTICS

"Among people age 40 and older, more than 3.6 million are visually impaired, defined as 20/40 or worse in the best-seeing eye even when vision is corrected by eyeglasses or contact lenses."
- Vision Problems in the U.S. report, by the National Eye Institute and Prevent Blindness America, 2008

"More than 150 million Americans use corrective eyewear to compensate for their refractive error. Americans spend more than $15 billion each year on eyewear."
- Vision Problems in the U.S. report, by the National Eye Institute and Prevent Blindness America, 2008

"In 2009, AllAboutVision.com commissioned a report from a leading industry analyst who found that wavefront LASIK combined with IntraLase and similar technologies costs an average of $2,314, compared with $1,748 for conventional LASIK."
- AllAboutVision.com 2009

"Most contact lens wearers (84 percent) return to their eye doctor for a comprehensive eye exam every year, whereas most patients who don’t wear contact lenses (61 percent) have complete eye exams every two years."
– Contact Lenses 2009. Contact Lens Spectrum. January 2010

"Among adults with vision problems, 62.3% reported having seen an eye care professional in the previous 12 months."
- Zhang X, Lee PP, Thompson TJ, et al. Health insurance coverage and use of eye care services. Arch Ophthalmol 2008;126(8):1121–1126.

"In 2004-2006, 17 percent of young adults aged 18-29 years reported needing but not receiving one or more of the following services in the past year because they could not afford them: medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, or eyeglasses."
- CDC/National Center for Health Statistics, June 11, 2009