Researchers at Harvard Medical School Discuss Findings in Managed Care (Time-Driven, Activity-Based Cost Analysis of Secondary Intraocular Lens Implantation): Managed Care

2026 APR 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Data detailed on Managed Care have been presented. According to news originating from Boston, Massachusetts, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “To determine the break-even times at which secondary intraocular lens procedures become profitable under current Medicare reimbursement rates for hospitals, when performed with concurrent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). The charts of patients who underwent secondary intraocular lens operations with PPV in 2023 were reviewed.”

Financial supporters for this research include Retina Innovation Fund, National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Harvard Medical School, “Inclusion criteria for patients treated within that timeframe were Current Procedural Terminology billing codes for: (1) secondary intraocular lens repositioning (66825), (2) secondary intraocular lens insertion only (66985), or (3) secondary intraocular lens exchange (66986). Total operative costs and expected Medicare reimbursement rates were calculated for each procedure. Break-even times for profitability per procedure were calculated as the operative time at which maximum Medicare reimbursement equaled the total expected operative costs. Our cohort included 97 secondary intraocular lens procedures performed with PPV. Median operative costs ranged from $6788.93 to $8762.76 for single-surgeon procedures and $8501.96 to $9393.56 for double-surgeon procedures. Break-even times for single-surgeon procedures were: 76.51 minutes for Intraocular lens repositioning with PPV; 77.05 minutes for intraocular lens exchange with PPV; and 75.96 minutes for intraocular lens insertion with PPV. Among all cases, 85.56% were found to be unprofitable and incurred a median net negative margin, ranging from -$822.40 (single-surgeon Intraocular lens repositioning) to -$3395.04 (double-surgeon Intraocular lens exchange). The median difference between total operative time and break-even times ranged from 13.96 minutes (Intraocular lens repositioning) to 46.91 minutes (intraocular lens exchange). The majority of secondary intraocular lens procedures performed with PPV are not profitable under current Medicare reimbursement rates.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Increased reimbursement for these complex procedures is required to achieve economic sustainability and maintain quality standards.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Time-Driven, Activity-Based Cost Analysis of Secondary Intraocular Lens Implantation. Journal of VitreoRetinal Diseases, 2026:24741264261428752.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Samantha E. Hoffman, Dept. of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Ryan S. Meshkin, Celine Chaaya Md, Srujay Pandiri, Nicolas A. Yannuzzi, Hasenin Al-Khersan, Ghassan Ghorayeb, Ella H. Leung, Miguel A. Busquets, Dan A. Gong, Anton M. Kolomeyer, Philip I. Niles, Michael M. Lai, Dilraj S. Grewal and Nime.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1177/24741264261428752. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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