What Is Vision Insurance?
Vision insurance is a type of health insurance that entitles you to specific eye care benefits defined in the policy.
Vision insurance policies typically cover routine eye exams and other procedures, and provide specified dollar amounts or discounts for the purchase of eyeglasses and contact lenses. Some vision insurance policies also offer discounts on refractive surgery, such as LASIK
Potentially high costs of routine eye examinations and prescription eyewear can be of real concern, especially for large families. You might be able to defray at least some of these costs by looking into acquiring vision insurance for yourself or better understanding the plan your company already provides.
Vision insurance only supplements regular health insurance. Regular health insurance plans protect you against financial loss due to unexpected eye injury or disease.
Vision insurance, on the other hand, is a wellness benefit designed to reduce your costs for routine, preventive eye care such as eye exams, eye wear and other services.
What Kinds of Vision Insurance Plans Are Available?
Vision insurance typically comes in the form of either a vision benefits package or a discount vision plan.
Typically, a vision benefits package provides free eye care services and eyewear within fixed dollar amounts in exchange for an annual premium or membership fee and a relatively small co-pay (fixed dollar amount) each time you access a service.
A discount vision plan, on the other hand, provides eye care and eyewear at discounted rates after you pay an annual premium or membership fee.
In some cases, a vision benefits package or discount vision plan may also include a deductible, a fixed dollar amount you must pay your eye care provider out-of-pocket before the insurance benefits take effect.
Vision insurance generally covers the following basic services:
- Annual eye examinations
- Eyeglass frames
- Eyeglass lenses
- Contact lenses
- Discounted rates for LASIK.
Generally, services acquired from network providers cost less than services from out-of-network providers