Gregory Optical is a participant in a variety of medical insurance and vision care plans. Terms and conditions vary with each plan, so it is advisable that you consult with your employer or insurance provider to determine what type of vision insurance plan you have. Call or E-mail our office with that information, and we will be happy to assist you in any way possible.
Some of the insurance and vision plans we participate with include:
Teamsters |
|
Medicare |
|
set-seg |
Vision Insurance
Generally speaking, vision insurance is offered by large groups and businesses to cover a portion of their employees' vision care. Vision insurance requires paying monthly premiums for defined vision coverage, and there are usually deductibles and annual benefit limits. For example, you might have a $50 deductible and an annual limit of $1500 for vision services per covered person. Vision insurance usually covers the cost of preventive services (such as exams) after the deductible is met.
Some drawbacks of vision insurance include annual spending maximums, deductibles, waiting periods for certain procedures, claim forms, and limitations or exclusions on vision care. Vision insurance is not readily accessible to individuals and families, unless provided by their employer.
Vision Plans
Vision plans, on the other hand, are NOT insurance plans, but are discount plans that give consumers access to vision services within a network at discounted rates. In other words, you pay a fee (typically an annual fee) to belong to a certain vision network, and all the vision providers in that network have agreed to give a pre-negotiated discount for covered vision services to any member of that network. With vision plans (often referred to as discount vision plans), there are no premiums, deductibles, co-pays or coverage limits. You simply get a pre-set discount for any vision service provided by the vision professional. Although this can vary by vision plan, typical services that are covered include examinations, eyeglasses, contacts, non-prescription sunglasses, eye exams, surgical procedures (including LASIK) and more. Most reputable vision plans provide a fee schedule with their literature so that you know what the discount will be before having any procedure done.
We mentioned earlier that the choice of vision plan will depend to a large degree on whether you have an employer or are self-employed. Vision plans are available to anyone, and are usually much more affordable for self-employed people than true vision insurance. Typical vision plans cost less than a hundred dollars per year, depending on whether you need individual or family coverage. By the way, there is no reason that you can't have vision insurance AND a vision plan.
