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What’s in Your Vision Insurance Plan

There are more options for vision insurance today than ever before. Whether your vision insurance plan is one you choose as an additional benefit in your employer health benefits package, or vision coverage you seek on your own through an insurance company or vision benefits provider, there are basics you should understand to make the most of vision insurance.

Understanding Vision Plans and Coverage

The options available to you in vision plans can be a little daunting. If you’ve chosen your vision insurance through your employer, your HR department and the insurance company literature—and websites—are a good place to start to understand what your vision insurance plan does and does not cover.
In general, there are two types of vision insurance plans:

Vision Benefits Package

Often purchased as an addition to traditional employer-provided healthcare, this type of vision insurance includes a fixed set of benefits related to eye health and maintenance, such as routine eye exams and testing, discounts for corrective eyewear, even benefits that reduce the cost of eye surgery. Vision insurance like this typically includes a network of participating eyecare professionals who have agreed to honor the plan particulars.

This type of vision insurance plan has evolved over the years to include more personalized choice for the consumer in the form of defined contribution vision coverage—where you, the consumer, choose the particular services and discount offerings based on what you expect your vision expenses to be.

Many of these vision plans involve using pre-tax dollars deducted automatically by your employer in the form of Flexible Spending Accounts, ‘Cafeteria’ Plans, Health Savings Accounts or Health Reimbursement Accounts. Each has particular tax advantages and drawbacks you should discuss in full with your vision plan administrator or provider, and if necessary, a tax professional.

Vision Discount Plans

While similar to traditional vision benefits, this type of vision insurance is generally less flexible than a vision benefits package because it offers flat discounts across the board for a wide menu of vision-related services, including specified discounts on eye exams, eyeglasses and contact lenses, even many surgical procedures.

You agree to pay the difference in cost in full—however these types of plans generally offer lower premiums than traditional vision benefit plans.
Vision insurance like this typically includes a “network” of participating eyecare professionals who have agreed to honor the stated discounts within the vision plan, so long as you agree to pay the difference.

Vision Insurance Planning

It may sound confusing at first, but you can plan to use your vision insurance to your maximum benefit by fully understanding what is specifically covered or not covered under your vision insurance plan, and by also discussing options with your eyecare professional to see how best to apply your particular vision coverage to your eyecare expenses.

This planning includes fully understanding any traditional health insurance coverage you may have. Unexpected eye injury, or the onset of certain eye diseases and their related treatments is often covered by your traditional health insurance rather than your specific vision insurance plan.

The point here is—it’s your vision insurance, your vision coverage—understanding your particular vision insurance plan is critical to maximizing those benefits.

Use it or lose it. Vision insurance benefits do expire.

Depending upon the type of vision insurance plan you’ve enrolled in, your vision insurance benefits may expire annually. This means if you don’t “use it” you “lose it” until the next year. Since you are contributing your hard-earned money toward your vision coverage, there’s really no excuse to skip your annual eye exam or see your optometrist should you experience any changes in your vision.

What’s more, many of the defined contribution vision insurance plans (Flexible Spending Accounts in particular) don’t allow for your deposited money to roll over into the next year. If you don’t spend what you’ve allocated, you may be at risk of losing that money entirely.

Think beyond the traditional examination to a second pair of eyeglasses, prescription sunglasses, photochromic lenses, or eyewear that’s specifically designed to fit your lifestyle. All might be within ready reach if you maximize your vision insurance coverage.

Special thanks to the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, for source material that aided in the creation of this website.

Dear Valued Patient:

We plan to re-open on May 20, 2020 to a limited schedule by appointment only—please set appointment online or call or email first.

We look forward to see you again soon!  We place the highest priority on the health and safety of our patients and our eye care staff.  Please read below:

Please read the following carefully to prepare for your visit to our office. We are implementing many new and more stringent procedures to ensure the health and safety of our patients and eye care personnel based on guidelines from the Alameda County Health Department and the CDC to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. During this time we are requiring the following for every patient and in-office encounter:

+We are starting with a limited schedule of appointments for better social distancing and for the safety of our patients (thank you in advance for your patience and understanding).

+All visits are by appointment only, there are no walk-in visits available

+All patients are required to wear their own personal mask before entering the office

+All patients are required to check in over the phone before their appointment

+Insurance coverage verifications must be taken care of before entering office for appointment

+Patient will wait outside in car until notified by text or email when they can come in for their appointment, upon entering, patient’s temperature will be taken and their hands sanitized with alcohol cleaner

+There will be no waiting area in the office, patient will be seen right away-please be on time

+Family or caregivers will need to wait outside in the car, as we will only allow patient to enter office.  Verbal consent for minors is acceptable. Updates will be given family or caregiver over the phone as needed.

+All glasses, contact lens orders will be by curb side pick up only—please call or email and we can help you set up a time to pick up your eye wear safely, maintaining social distancing

Our doctors and staff will increase our cleaning and sanitizing protocols:

+We have the latest HEPA air filters with UVC light disinfection to destroy bacteria and viruses

+Wearing protective face shields and surgical masks and medical grade disposable gloves

+All exam equipment and every surface is sanitized fully with hospital grade sanitizer after each patient encounter

+We have a new safe system of disinfection for all frames which have been touched or tried

+We screen all patients by phone to assure they have been healthy prior to their appointment

+All staff and doctors have passed additional training in more stringent sanitizing protocol

Thank you for your patience and compliance to these new and required guidelines. Our goal is to take care of your eye care needs while keeping you and your family healthy. We also want to help our community overcome this pandemic.

We will get through this together.

Please let us know if you have any questions or need more immediate assistance. 

You can set up a future appointment online at EyeCareDrLee.com or send an email to EyeCareDrLee@gmail.com or DrLeongOK@gmail.com  or call 510-668-0877

Please stay safe and stay healthy.

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Stay up to date on our COVID-19 pandamic protocols Read Our Blog Post…

Our office continues to monitor the local health announcements on a daily basis. Optometry is an essential service and we will open to new health guidelines to help our patients while keeping everyone healthy. Please read our blog updates for our open date and new safety guidelines. Let us know if you have any questions or immediate eye care needs. Need contact lenses? Let us know, as we can send orders to you with free shipping.
We are responding faster to direct email:

eyecareDrLee@gmail.com

drLeongOK@gmail.com (for ortho-k)

Thank you, stay safe and stay healthy.

COVID-19 guidelines from CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention-H.pdf