It's Not Only Developing Countries That Benefit From Adjustable Glasses - We Can Too

Most of the buzz around Professor Joshua Silver’s adjustable glasses is rightfully centered around the benefits that such glasses can do for those in the developing world that do not have access to optometrists and vision care. I would argue that along with this obvious benefit, these glasses also have the potential to critically transform accessibility for low-income families in the United States and can reduce waste by a significant margin.

According to an editorial from Slate[1], the average adult replaces their glasses every 2.2 years. If an adult with vision issues gets their glasses at 18 years old and needs to adjust their glasses every 2.2 years until they are 78 years old, that adult would need to change their prescription 27 times. That is a significant number of lenses and frames that do not need to be replaced when that adult uses adjustable glasses. That of course does not account for fashion changes, but adjustable glasses would considerably cut down on the waste produced by replacing traditional glasses when you get a new prescription.

Another benefit to adjust table glasses is reducing cost for government programs such as Medicaid and costs for families as they often must cover the cost of both lenses and frames, which can become costly very quickly. Medicaid generally does not cover vision care for those over 18 years old, but even for children the cost of replacement prescriptions can be steep. A set of glasses can cost upwards of $200 for children or as little as $50 a pair. In either case, replacing those prescriptions at least once a year (as 71% of parents stated on a poll[2]) can get costly quickly.

Many vision plans provided by employers cover eye exams but not glasses or frames to correct vision. This is important to note because most financially insecure families will use these plans to supplement the cost of vision care if they opt into any vision insurance at all. Adults generally replace their prescriptions every 2.2 years, with glasses costs easily reaching over $400 a pair. This causes a huge financial burden on low-income families and can restrict access to a wide variety of opportunities.

With adjustable glasses, financially insecure persons and families can easily maintain their vision and their optical health at low costs because they would not need to buy new lenses for each prescription. This can help a family maintain their tenuous financial position and help cut the expensive costs of traditional glasses.

With adjustable glasses widely available in developed countries, the world could see a reduction in unnecessary costs – both as waste produced per pair thrown away and as excess financial burden.

---

[1] Rastogi, Nina. “Glasses vs. Contact Lenses”. Slate, January 12, 2010, accessed September 12^th, 2017, http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2010/01/glasses_vs_contact_lenses.html.

[2] Z., Ann. “How Often Do Your Child’s Glasses Prescriptions Change?”. Little Four Eyes, October 20^th, 2009, accessed September 12^th, 2017, https://littlefoureyes.com/2009/10/20/how-often-do-your-childs-glasses-prescriptions-change/.