Report On Data From Quebec's See Better To Succeed Program
See Better To Succeed is a Québec financial assistance program that offers reimbursement to any child under the age of 18 for the purchase of prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses. For purchases made before April 1, 2023, requestors can receive a reimbursement of up to $250. For purchases made after April 1, 2023, requestors may receive up to $300 reimbursement.
The Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) provided statistics on the See Better To Succeed Program, specifically the number of requests for glasses, contact lenses or both from various age groups, between September 1, 2019, and May 31, 2023. The data showed that:
Children under 6 years of age requested reimbursement for 1,267 orders of glasses and contact lenses, 63,698 orders for glasses only, 155 orders for contact lenses only and 1, 483 undetermined[1] requests. Overall, there were a total of 66,873 reimbursement requests from this age group.
Children between the ages of 7 and 10 requested reimbursement for 2,223 orders of glasses and contact lenses, 129, 934 orders for glasses only, 1,005 orders for contact lenses only and 3415 undetermined requests. In total, there were 136,577 reimbursement requests from this age group.
Children between the ages of 11 and 17 requested reimbursement for 5,261 orders of glasses and contact lenses, 287,604 orders for glasses only, 20,216 orders for contact lenses only and 6508 undetermined requests. Altogether, there were 319,589 reimbursement requests from this age group.
For people over the age of 18, there were 44 requests for glasses and contact lenses, two for glasses only, and one for contact lenses. There was a total of 47 requests from this age group.
The eligibility period for some residents over the age 18 for the program was extended because of the pandemic and lockdown, which limited some people’s ability to request reimbursement before they turned 18.
[1] Requests of undetermined type have no precision on the type of purchase entered on the invoice, item not available during the first two months of online service.
