How fees work
Which plan pays for which part of a visit, and what you pay yourself.
Insurance we work with
A routine eye exam is billed to your vision plan. A visit for an eye problem, a check on an eye disease or a follow-up is billed to your medical insurance. Many visits are both, and we bill each part to the plan that pays it. Medicare does not cover routine exams or glasses, with narrow exceptions.
Vision plans: routine exams, glasses and contact lenses
Medical insurance: eye problems, checks on eye disease and follow-ups
Medicaid and CHIP: the front desk confirms what your plan covers
Employer or school plans: ask us to check yours
If you pay yourself
If you pay yourself, the front desk tells you what your visit will cost before it starts. Contact lens fittings, special lens treatments and replacement lenses are billed separately, and we explain that from the start. If cost is a worry, say so: we explain what is needed today and what can wait.
Receipts for reimbursement
Ask for an itemized receipt and send it to your plan to ask for reimbursement. Whether the plan reimburses you is the plan's decision.
An estimate in advance
If you pay without insurance, we give you a written good faith estimate before your visit. If the final bill is $400 or more above that estimate, you can dispute it. Ask for it when you call.
Checking your benefits
The front desk checks your benefits before your visit where it can, and asks you to confirm them with your plan too. The final decision on what is paid is your plan's.
What the first visit includes
The first visit is a full exam of about an hour, billed to the plan that pays for it. At the end you get a copy of your prescription.
Your prescription is yours
When your exam and your lens fitting are done, we give you a copy of your prescription. You can fill it anywhere.
Questions about fees
Why was part of my visit billed to my medical insurance?
If the reason for your visit is an eye problem or a disease, medical insurance pays, not the vision plan.
What if I don't have insurance?
We give you a written estimate before your visit. Ask for it when you call.
Ask about your plan
Call or message us and the front desk checks your benefits before your visit.