Morse AR, et al. - Via a study of 12,330 Medicare beneficiaries and 11,858 commercial health insurance enrollees with or no vision loss (NVL), the researchers evaluated whether the mean hospitalization lengths of stay, readmission rates, and costs of hospitalization varied among individuals with vision loss and those without when they were hospitalized for similar medical conditions. A total of 6,165 people with NVL were matched to 6,165 with vision loss among Medicare beneficiaries. Three thousand and four hundred and one individuals had partial vision loss (PVL) and 2,764 (44.8%) had severe vision loss (SVL), out of those with vision loss. A total of 5,929 people with NVL were matched to 5,929 people with vision loss in the Clinformatics DataMart database. Out of the commercially insured enrollees with vision loss, 3,515 and 2,414 had PVL and SVL, respectively. In comparison with those with NVL, Medicare enrollees with SVL had prolonged mean lengths of stay, greater readmission rates, and higher hospitalization and 90-day postdischarge costs. Medicare beneficiaries with SVL had a 4% more prolonged length of stay, 22% greater odds of readmission, and 12% higher costs, in contrast with those with NVL. For those with commercial health insurance, similar findings were received. An expected amount of more than $500 million in additional costs annually was spent caring for subjects with vision loss, when these findings were extrapolated to hospitalizations of subjects with vision loss nationwide. Hence, during hospitalization and thereafter, chances for enhancing results and lessening costs existed in addressing patients’ vision loss and concomitant functional challenges.