Understanding the cost calculation for vision insurance can help you understand whether to sign up for a vision plan.
With open enrollment season coming up soon, these many Americans are re-examining their health coverage to determine what plans are the best options for themselves and their families. For many people, this is a difficult and confusing time that leaves them feeling frustrated and dissatisfied. Our perspective is this: you should feel good about your coverage. And the best way we can help you find that peace of mind is to lay the facts before you as best we can.
As you consider your options, vision insurance might be an afterthought. It’s a smaller expense, compared to medical insurance, and if you haven’t had it before, you may not be aware of the benefits. Now, naturally, we think vision insurance is pretty important—but we also think it’s important to know what you’re paying for, and what you’re getting in return.
In the long run, vision insurance can save you a significant amount of money, especially if you or your children already wear glasses or contacts. But even if you don’t, vision insurance still helps you protect your health through regular eye exams and ancillary benefits. Here’s how.
Where do I get vision insurance? How much does it cost?
Like medical insurance, vision insurance may be available through your employer. You can also purchase vision insurance on your own—in fact, Heritage offers individual and family plans that we encourage you to look at if you’re in the market. While your employer may require you to make insurance changes during open enrollment, some vision insurance plans—ours included—let you sign up at any time.
The cost of vision insurance varies, as with any insurance premium. Vision insurance is usually much less expensive than medical insurance, though, with premiums typically falling between $5 and $30 per month.
What does vision insurance cover?
Vision insurance usually covers one comprehensive eye exam each year for each person on your plan, and offers discounts, allowances, or co-pays on lenses, frames, and other services.
Vision insurance could help you save on:
- Your annual eye exam
- Glasses frames
- Glasses lenses
- Special lens treatments (anti-reflective, anti-scratch)
- Special lens prescriptions (bifocal, progressive)
- Contact lens fittings
- Contact lenses
Some vision plans (like Heritage!) also include ancillary benefits, like discounts on laser eye surgery (LASIK) or hearing aids.
How does vision insurance save money?
While you don’t need insurance to get an eye exam or glasses, the cost with insurance will be lower, and these cost savings happen differently depending on your plan. Your exams and lenses might be discounted, or you might receive an allowance for glasses or contact lens purchases each year. You may need to pay a set amount per exam (a co-pay), or one exam per year might be completely covered by your insurance. Some plans cover more options than others, and monthly costs vary accordingly.
Often, your insurance plan will have a network of approved providers. If you use in-network providers, your costs will be lowest—but you may still be able to get reimbursed for an out-of-network service. Some insurance providers have networks that only cover a limited area, or they may not have many care providers near you, so it’s important to check before you buy.
These are the details that will help you determine which vision insurance plan is right for you, so be sure to get as much information as you can before you make your final decision. Once you have the details of a few potential plans, you can ask yourself some key questions:
- How much did I spend on eye exams, glasses, and contacts in the last year?
- Do I expect to spend the same amount, more, or less in the coming year?
- How much will this plan save me on those purchases?
- Is that amount more than the annual cost of the plan?
In many cases, the cost of insurance is less than the cost of your vision care needs, even if all you use it for is your annual exam. Without insurance, eye exams can cost as much as $200—with a Heritage individual plan, you would only owe a $10 co-pay.
Why do I need vision insurance?
If your vision is clear and your eyes feel healthy, you might be tempted to dismiss the idea of vision insurance. But refractive errors are incredibly common in the US, with over 150 million people experiencing one—which means your partner or your child has a very good chance of needing corrective lenses. There’s even a chance that you yourself could be seeing more clearly, but the only way you’d know is with an eye exam.
As we age, we also become much more likely to experience an eye condition. Whether you eventually need reading glasses or are facing age-related macular degeneration, the earlier you catch the condition, the easier it is to manage. This is true for non-eye-related conditions, too—many of them, like certain cancers or multiple sclerosis, can show their first symptoms in your eyes. Regular exams build up a baseline of information about your eye health, so that if something changes, you and your care provider can identify it quickly.
In short: if you’re not taking advantage of regular eye exams, you should start—and if you don’t think you need vision insurance now, you probably will eventually. Whether you’ve never had an eye exam or you need new glasses every year, give yourself the confidence of knowing that you’re taking good care of your eye health.
Protect your vision—and your budget—with Heritage.
Health changes and eyewear expenses can be unpredictable—but good vision insurance helps guard against unexpected costs and connects you with the resources you need to protect your vision. Find peace of mind with an individual plan from Heritage, and gain access to our handpicked network of quality care providers for yourself and your family.