How Insurance Coverage Works for Your Eyesight
Vision insurance, depending on how you use it, can be a bit of a misnomer. What we call vision insurance, for most of us, actually functions more like a kind of vision wellness plan.
For those with perfectly functioning eyesight, the monthly premium for vision insurance can serve to offset the cost of an annual visit to the eye doctor. With a routine annual eyesight check-up, you will be able to ensure that there’s nothing developing in the eyes you may not already be aware of.
But for those who have difficulty seeing without corrective lenses, the function of vision insurance is far more profound and elaborate. Read on for a short guide to how vision insurance functions, and decide for yourself whether it makes sense or not.
What Vision Typically Insurance Covers
Vision insurance typically covers routine preventive care and an annual eye exam, as well as some or all of the cost of prescription contact lenses or eyeglasses. Some premium plans also extend coverage to provide subscribers with discounts on various forms of corrective surgery like PRK or LASIK.
But, beyond the fact that vision insurance covers medical procedures and prescriptions, it bears little other resemblance to standard health insurance, and functions more as a discount plan in many cases.
Purchasing Vision Insurance in Portland and Beyond
Like other types of healthcare coverage, group vision insurance is available to groups of employees through their employers. It may also be available through trade associations, such as your local school district (for students), a person’s college or university, and through government-funded programs like Medicaid and Medicare.
Individual vision insurance and family plans, on the other hand, are typically available through most providers but often carry higher premiums and offer smaller discounts.
Typical Coverage for Your Vision
As with other types of insurance, it is advisable that you work with your eye doctor’s office staff to fully understand your coverage levels prior to your eye exam and before ordering frames and lenses.
Prescription eyewear can be very expensive, and it pays to know what you’re signing up for prior to getting the bill for the balance, after your insurance provider pays their part.
Most vision plans cover all or a percentage of the cost of an annual eye exam, as well as basic contact lenses, eyeglass lenses, bifocals, and even progressive lenses in some cases. Some vision plans pay for a percentage of the cost of frames, while others pay for the cost of frames up to a specific ceiling, or for a pre-negotiated range of frames.
Lens coatings, transition lenses, and coverage for surgery and other services vary greatly from plan to plan.
PDX Vision Insurance: Worth Every Penny
Vision insurance, misnomer or not, is generally affordable for most working adults, self-employed or otherwise. What you get in exchange for vision insurance – the piece of mind that comes with an annual eye exam – is worth a lot more than even the most expensive coverage.
Remember, your eye doctor isn’t simply looking to correct myopia and other vision problems. In many ways, your eye doctor can be your first line of defense against the onset of diabetes, hypertension, and a whole host of other health issues that can be diagnosed during an annual eye exam.
If it’s been a while since you’ve had your eyes examined, get in touch with Beaumont Vision today. We’ll get you scheduled for a routine, annual eye exam, and can weigh in on the best options for you when it comes to purchasing vision insurance in Portland.