COSTS OF VISION IMPAIRMENT

In 1990, the aggregate federal budgetary cost of vision impairment was estimated to 

be $4.1 billion dollars (Chiang, Bassi, & Javitt, 1992).  

In 1991, Medicare spent an estimated $3.4 billion for 1.35 million episodes of 

cataract surgery (Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, 1993). 

Visual impairment has been identified as one of the four most significant contributors to 

lost independence among older Americans.  The loss of independence (due to all 

causes) costs an additional $26 billion in medical and long term costs per year (Alliance 

for Aging Research, 1999). 

"In 1981, the economic impact of visual disorders and disabilities was 

approximately $14.1 billion per year. By 1995, this figure was estimated to have 

risen to more than $38.4 billion $22.3 billion in direct costs and another $16.1 

billion in indirect costs each year"  (National Advisory Eye Council, 1998, p. 7). 

COMPUTER USE AND INTERNET ACCESS

Among persons age 21 64 with a vision impairment who are employed,  an estimated 

900,000 persons use a computer (Demographics Update, 1995a). 

The following estimates are based on data collected from the Survey of Income and 

Program Participation (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2000): 

51% of persons (all ages) with no disability regularly use a personal computer, in 

comparison to 13% of persons with vision problems.  While 23% of persons without 

a disability have never used a computer, 70% of those with a visual problem have 

never used one. 

The majority of persons with no disabilities (57%) report having internet access (at 

home or elsewhere), in comparison to one fifth (21%) of persons who have a vision 

problem. 

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