Childhood myopia rates jumped from 25% to 36% in one generation, but myopia management treatments cost $1,000-$2,250/year and no US insurance covers them

Global childhood myopia prevalence surged from 25.3% (2001-2010) to 35.8% (2020-2023) -- a 42% increase in roughly 15 years -- driven by increased screen time and reduced outdoor activity, yet the evidence-based treatments that can slow myopia progression in children (low-dose atropine drops, orthokeratology lenses, specialized multifocal contact lenses) cost $1,000-$2,250 per year and are categorically excluded from vision insurance coverage in the United States. Why it matters: parents must pay $1,000-$2,250 annually out of pocket per child for myopia management, so lower-income families cannot access these treatments, so their children's myopia progresses unchecked to high myopia (-6.00 diopters or worse), so high myopia dramatically increases lifetime risk of retinal detachment (5-10x), glaucoma (2-3x), and myopic maculopathy, so these children face preventable blindness as adults -- a burden that falls disproportionately on families who could not afford $100/month for atropine drops during childhood. The structural root cause is that myopia management is classified as 'elective' rather than 'medically necessary' by US insurers because the treatments prevent future pathology rather than treating current disease, and the FDA has been slow to approve myopia-specific indications for atropine (still used off-label) which gives insurers justification to exclude coverage.