Do you or a member of your family have glasses and/or require routine eye care?

Vision insurance might be something that you would like to look into. Many health insurance plans provide vision insurance, but if yours doesn’t that means it’s time to seriously look into it. What exactly is vision insurance? 

Vision insurance is a way to reduce eye care expenses.

In exchange for a monthly premium, the plan picks up some of the costs of vision care. Healthedly offers a few plans for vision insurance.

Health insurance typically covers medically necessary eye care. For example, if you injure your eye or have symptoms of eye disease, your insurance generally pays to see an ophthalmologist. Vision insurance, on the other hand, focuses on correcting vision. It usually covers eye exams and corrective lenses and may also pay some costs of elective procedures, such as LASIK, to correct eyesight.

You purchase a private eyecare plan by paying a premium to the insurance company. Vision coverage can vary widely depending on the plan. Some plans cover the full cost of vision exams, while others require a copay. Some plans pay an allowance toward corrective lenses at certain intervals. Others pay a percentage of the cost or give you a discount. You may be required to see a doctor within the plan’s network to get full benefits.

Vision insurance is different from a vision discount plan, which offers discounts on eye care. Typically, discount plans cost less per year than vision insurance, but you pay more for visits and eyewear than you would with insurance.

Most adults need vision correction: 66% of Americans 18 and over report using glasses, contacts or both, according to the National Eye Institute. Depending on how often you need new lenses or eye exams, getting eye insurance may be a smart financial choice.

Should you get vision insurance if you don’t wear glasses? 

Even if you don’t wear glasses or contacts, it’s a good idea to get vision insurance. Vision insurance covers all or most of the cost of an annual eye exam, and comprehensive eye exams are necessary for much more than checking whether current eyeglass/corrective lens prescriptions are correct. They are also the first line of defense when it comes to catching eye disease or injury.

Should I get a vision plan? 

It depends. If routine exams are all you need, the cost of insurance might not be worth it. Take a look at the cost for one year of vision insurance compared with the cost of an eye exam. This is a hypothetical look at a year’s worth of preventive care only, assuming your provider pays 100% for eye exams, as many do.

Do you need insurance for an eye exam? 

No, but it wouldn’t hurt to have it. If you plan on getting routine eye exams or have a history of vision problems, we’d strongly recommend it. 

Who needs vision insurance? 

Eye exams can detect hidden medical problems, even those with perfect vision shouldn’t skip them. As you age, you’ll need more frequent vision exams. People with poor vision, a family history of eye disease or a condition that increases the risk of eye disease, such as diabetes, should have more frequent exams.

Here’s how to decide if you or your family needs a plan.

Vision plans often pay at least a portion of:

• Basic preventive care such as eye exams and vision tests.
• Eyeglass lenses.
• Contact lenses.
• Eyeglass frames.
• Lens protection for glasses.

When you have vision insurance, you send the insurer a check or set up auto-pay with a credit card for your premium for individual plans, or have the premium deducted from your paycheck for employer-sponsored plans.

The key consideration in buying vision insurance is whether the amount you could save outweighs the cost. Interested in learning more? Visit Healthedly today to see if a vision insurance plan is right for you and your family.