Will Payers Be an Obstacle to the ‘Epi-On’ Approach to Corneal Collagen Crosslinking? | AAO 2025

Kenneth A. Beckman, M.D., doesn’t see insurers as standing in the way of patients getting treated with the “epi-on” approach to corneal collagen crosslinking that he thinks is preferable to the epi-off approach.

“Most health care plans now cover crosslinking,” he said. “A lot of times we need to do prior authorizations and such, but for the most part, they've been getting covered. And I think that as this process evolves, we'll probably find the same with the epi-pen.”

Beckman, a cornea specialist at Comprehensive EyeCare of Central Ohio, presented positive research findings about the epi-on approach at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting this weekend in Orlando, Florida. The epi-on approach leaves the corneal epithelium intact. Beckman says the procedure is faster than the one that involves removing a thin layer of the corneal epithelium and that the patients experience less postoperative pain and have a lower risk of infection.

Ophthalmology Times interviewed Beckman on Managed Healthcare Executive’s behalf.