OptumHealth Donates More Than $2 Million In Eyeglass Frames To Prevent Blindness America

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Article Date: 10 Jul 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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OptumHealth Inc. announced that it is partnering with Prevent Blindness America, the nation's oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, to donate 50,000 eyeglass frames worth more than $2 million to residents in Ohio who participate in the Prevent Blindness Ohio Vision Care Outreach program. The program provides access to eye exams and eyeglasses for children and adults without medical coverage.

"By providing these frames to those who may not otherwise be able to afford them, OptumHealth is contributing greatly to the well-being of individuals in Ohio with the most common eye problems," said Prevent Blindness America President and CEO Hugh R. Parry.

According to research from Prevent Blindness America, in Ohio alone there are nearly 2 million people older than age 40 who have some form of near- or farsightedness. Most vision impairments from refractive errors can be corrected through prescription eyeglasses.

"Our goal in making this donation to Prevent Blindness America is to further the message that routine eye exams should be part of the overall goal to live a healthy lifestyle," said Don Yee, president of OptumHealth Vision. "Eye exams are an important part of health and wellness because an exam can often signal to an eye care professional that an individual is facing a larger medical issue."

OptumHealth Vision is a business unit of OptumHealth Specialty Benefits, which offers a broad array of ancillary products, including vision, dental, group and voluntary insurance, worksite individual insurance and non-insurance programs.

About OptumHealth

OptumHealth Inc. helps individuals navigate the health care system, finance their health care needs and achieve their health and well-being goals. The company's personalized health advocacy and engagement programs tap a unique combination of capabilities that encompass public sector solutions, care solutions, behavioral solutions, specialty benefits and financial services. Serving nearly 60 million people, OptumHealth is one of the nation's largest health and wellness businesses, and is a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company. More information about OptumHealth can be found at http://www.optumhealth.com.

Source
Prevent Blindness America