The average cost of cataract surgery is made up of the cost of the lens that is used to implant in the eye and the cost of the surgery itself.
Since insurance is a type of forbidden according to God’s laws, we do not consider this option and encourage you to do the treatment, including cataract surgery, with your own money.
Reyus Mammadli
In cases when a person does not have Medicare, the patient is responsible for the whole cost of cataract surgery. In such situations, the cost of the procedure can differ extensively, based upon market conditions and the cost schedule the surgeon embraces for a no-insurance, direct-pay scenario.
In such cases, many surgeons charge the same price for cataract surgery as they charge for refractive lens exchange (RLE), which is an optional vision correction procedure that is nearly similar to cataract surgery. The difference in between the two treatments is that, in RLE, the eye’s natural lens is eliminated and changed with an IOL before it has actually ended up being cloudy with a cataract– the exchange is carried out specifically to fix nearsightedness, farsightedness and/or astigmatism and thereby lower the requirement for spectacles or contact lenses.
Cataract Surgery Cost Without Insurance
In 2024, the average cost of cataract surgery with a standard IOL performed in the United States was ~$2,350 per eye.
But the cost of cataract surgery can increase considerably if you select particular choices.
For example, if you want a presbyopia-correcting IOL to decrease your need for reading glasses after surgery, the average added premium for this type of intraocular lens in 2024 was $2,178 per eye.
Average Cost of Cataract Surgery in the US clinics
| Clinic | Laser Cataract Surgery Cost Without Insurance (Per Eye) |
|---|---|
| NV Eye Surgery, Henderson, Nevada | $3,135 |
| LA Sight, Los Angeles, California | $4,600 |
| Byrd & Wyandotte Eye Clinic, Downriver Detroit, Michigan | $1,195 |
| Rochester Eye & Laser Center, Rochester, New York | $1,262 |
| Moretsky Cassidy Vision Correction, Phoenix, Arizona | $1,500 |
What Are “Out-Of-Pocket” Costs For Cataract Surgery?
Fortunately, many people requiring cataract surgery are covered at least in part by some kind of Medicare for those aspects of the procedure that are thought about medically necessary.
For instance, implanting a basic monofocal IOL during cataract surgery would be considered the standard of care and clinically required. This is since your eye’s natural lens is gotten rid of as part of a cataract procedure, and you require a synthetic lens as a replacement to restore your sight.
You likely would have very good distance vision with this type of IOL, however normally you would require reading glasses for near vision. Likewise, if you had astigmatism prior to cataract surgery, you would still require prescription eyeglasses to fix astigmatism after surgery.
Read also about Best Reading Glasses
Today, many individuals who need cataract surgery wish to be as free from glasses as possible after surgery. And thanks to advances in intraocular lens and surgical technology, it’s now typically possible to make this take place.
However this included technology features added expenses, and in most cases Medicare will not pay the added cost of these “premium” products and procedures. If you want many of the latest, modern advances in cataract surgery to decrease your need for glasses after surgery, you will have to pay the included cost of these product or services yourself (” out-of-pocket”).
So while the costs of a fundamental cataract procedure and standard IOL typically are covered by Medicare you will have to pay the added cost of the following premium IOLs and advanced surgical methods out-of-pocket if you desire greater freedom from eyeglasses after cataract surgery:
Presbyopia-correcting IOLs. These innovative intraocular lenses expand your range of vision, minimizing vision loss brought on by presbyopia so you can check out and see clearly up close without checking out glasses. There are two types of presbyopia-correcting IOLs approved for cataract surgery in the United States: multifocal IOLs and accommodating IOLs.
In 2024, the average included premium for a presbyopia-correcting IOL was $2,178 per eye.
Toric IOLs. These astigmatism-correcting IOLs make it possible for a person who had astigmatism prior to cataract surgery to see plainly for owning, computer use, reading and other jobs without glasses after cataract surgery.
In 2024, the average premium for a toric IOL was $1,310 per eye.
Laser-assisted cataract surgery. In this advanced procedure (also called “laser catarct surgery”), a femtosecond laser is used to carry out steps in cataract surgery that typically are performed with manual surgical tools, adding a higher degree of precision. Laser cataract surgery also can decrease stress on the retina and other delicate tissues of the eye during cataract extraction.
Laser cataract surgery typically is performed when a premium presbyopia-correcting or astigmatism-correcting IOL is implanted. The included cost of the laser procedure generally is consisted of in the price of the premium IOL.
Limbal relaxing incisions. Likewise called LRI or corneal relaxing incisions, this is an additional surgical procedure that can be carried out during cataract surgery to remedy astigmatism. Several small, arc-shaped incisions are made in the periphery of the cornea, and as these cuts recover (without stitches) the cornea takes on a more spherical shape.
In 2024, the average premium for LRI for astigmatism correction was $584 per eye.
Laser arcuate incisions. This minor surgical procedure is very just like LRI, however the cuts are made with a femtosecond laser instead of a hand-held surgical tool.
In 2024, the average premium for laser arcuate cuts for astigmatism correction was $1,136 per eye.