system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are dentists, optometrists, etc. not part of the "standard" medical community? In other words, why doesn't all insurance cover vision/dental?

I know there is a political and historical answer to this, but I don't know what it is.  What I do know is that doctors are saying tooth health is related to heart health, and while perhaps teeth are just cosmetic now that we have grocery stores, blenders, and Thick-it, living with no teeth isn't exactly normal or healthy.  Same thing goes for glasses and contacts--why the heck do we not put all health-care providers in the same bracket?  I really don't know.  I'm sure the answer is money, but I'd like to know the story.  Thanks Reddit!
gpt
Great question! The primary answer is money - if these services were covered, health insurance would cost (significantly) more.

Secondary, there are politics involved. For a multitude of reasons, dentistry and medicine developed as parallel fields. As such, dentistry is treated as a separate and unique entity from medicine, with its own regulation bodies and schooling.

A (contentious) argument might be made that these aren't quite as "medically necessary" - many people can get by without dental checkups and fillings for years with no ill-effects, whereas cancer treatment or management of heart failure has an immediate and recognizable impact on your health. The cardiac risk arising from poor dental health is itself a controversial topic.

Nonetheless the bottom line comes down to money - these are very expensive services (dentistry especially) and in many cases the money simply isn't there.