Is Vision Insurance Worth It? What Does It Do? September 2024

The Importance of Eye Health

Your eyes do so much for you, playing a vital role in your daily life. As a key sensory organ, your eyes work hard every day, helping you learn about and navigate your world. But as central as they are to understanding the outside world, your eyes also can help discover what’s going on inside your body.

Moving about 100,000 times a day, your eyes are on duty from the time you wake up until you go to sleep. With all that work, eyecare professionals recommend making eye health a priority. One of the ways you can care for your eyes is to obtain vision insurance.

But is vision insurance worth it? The answer may not be the same for everyone. Take a closer look at vision insurance, its benefits and its costs.

Vision Insurance: Definition and Basics

So what is vision insurance exactly? Vision insurance covers most or all of the regular maintenance recommended to keep you seeing clearly: annual comprehensive eye exams, frames and lenses, and glasses or contacts.

Is vision insurance included in health insurance? Typically, it isn’t for adults. While health insurance can cover eye diseases and injuries—medical conditions—it doesn’t cover vision correction.

For example, you’re playing baseball or softball and a line drive hits you in the eye or you need to be treated for glaucoma. Care for that eye injury and that condition can be covered by your health insurance, not vision insurance.

Your vision insurance can cover all or part of the cost of you going to the eye doctor for a routine check-up once a year and the prescription glasses or contacts you may need to correct your vision—help you see as clearly as possible—after your eye exam.

How Does Vision Insurance Work?

Vision insurance can help you manage your costs for eye care and eyewear. With vision insurance, you pay a monthly or annual premium to an insurance company. In return, the insurance company can cover all or part of your costs for eye care services or can provide you with a discount on the services. This can help reduce your out-of-pocket costs for eye care.

Most vision insurance coverage allows you to include your family, too.

Types of Vision Insurance

There are three types of vision plans: health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations and discount plans.

Vision Health Maintenance Organization (VHMO)

With a VHMO, you get access to a network of eye doctors across the U.S. You must choose a primary care physician (PCP), use doctors and eyewear facilities within the network and seek referrals from your PCP.

Vision Preferred Provider Organization (VPPO)

You don’t have to select PCP and can go to any provider within the network under a VPPO plan. You also can go to a doctor and eyewear facility outside the network but at a higher cost.

Vision Discount Plan

A vision discount plan is just that. You pay discounts for exams and eyewear covered in your plan.

Consider your overall eye care needs to choose the right plan for you. A VHMO and VPPO offer more comprehensive coverage and other benefits if you know you need more frequent vision care. If you have fewer vision needs, a vision discount plan might suit you best.

What Does Vision Insurance Cover?

Benefits for vision insurance vary by insurer and plan. However, here’s what vision insurance generally can cover:

• Comprehensive eye exam annually

• All or partial cost of glasses, including the frames and lenses

• Contact lenses

• Discounts on LASIK and PRK laser eye corrective surgeries

Consider your vision care needs and review vision insurance plans carefully to select the one that best suits you. For instance, some plans pay toward the cost or offer a discount for frames, lenses and contacts. Others might pay for lenses and an allowance toward the cost of frames. Another might pay for glasses or contacts, but not both.

What Does Vision Insurance Not Cover?

Vision insurance doesn’t cover any part of an exam that is considered medical, such as:

• Eye disease

• Exams for diabetes

• Vision loss

• Dry eye

• Floaters

• Allergies

• infections

Your vision insurance also cannot cover medications.

How Much Is Vision Insurance?

Vision insurance costs vary because of benefits, where you live, your age and the number of people covered. Generally, though, eye insurance costs are low compared to the average American income.

Most vision insurance plans have no deductible, unlike the rising trend in the average deductible for health insurance. The average vision insurance cost is less than $20 per month.

How to Get Vision Insurance

You can purchase vision insurance through your employer, a health insurance company or an insurance benefits company. Similar insurance health companies offering vision insurance might lead you to ask, “Why is vision insurance separate?”

This is because health insurance covers medical issues, and vision care is not considered an essential health service.

Learn More About Vision Insurance From ConsumerShield

So is vision insurance worth it? The answer is different for everyone. Talk to the insurance professionals at ConsumerShield to get answers to your lingering questions or find the vision insurance to meet your needs.

At ConsumerShield, we are revolutionizing how consumers exercise their rights and enjoy sharing our experience to empower their decision-making. We can answer questions you might have about vision insurance or insurance in general. Get in touch with us today.