Posted on 01/12/2010 6:49:24 AM PST by ml/nj
You just pay for it is the cost of glasses. Do you really think you get something for free??? Advertising is an art form. Why should someone provide something for free???
I must not have made myself clear. That is what I was suggesting. Go to your opthamologist, get the medical exam, but decline the “refraction” so you don’t have to pay for it. Go wherever you want to buy the glasses to get “refracted.” My experience has been that the optometrist does a better job of getting my prescription right than the opthamologist.
This has been happening to physicians for years. Medicaid (not Medicare) would bundle a flu shot into an office vist if we gave a flu shot when we were seeing a patinet for a ear infection. Meaning we lost money giving the flu shot. So we had to inconvience our patients and tell them to come back at a different day for their flu shot so we could get payed. The.gov knows how to play the game.
You did not understand my post, and have re-stated the obvious. Of course nothing is free. The POINT IS: you are going to spend money on glasses, and the business is HIGHLY COMPETITIVE. You can get a very reasonable deal on the refraction exam and the glasses. And, packaged that way, the exam is much less expensive that one performed by an opthamologist.
Cheap Sunglasses
Artist(Band): ZZ Top
When you wake up in the morning and the light is hurt your head
The first thing you do when you get up out of bed
Is hit that streets a-runnin’ and try to beat the masses
And go get yourself some cheap sunglasses
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Spied a little thing and I followed her all night
In a funky fine levis and her sweater’s kind of tight
She had a west coast strut that was as sweet as molases
But what really knocked me out was her cheap sunglasses
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
(solo)
Now go out and get yourself some big black frames
With the glass so dark thay won’t even know your name
And the choice is up to you cause they come in two classes:
Rhinestone shades or cheap sunglasses
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Refraction has been a separate billed portion of the ophthalmologist’s medical exam for several years...This is one example of the “rationing” that has slipped in gradually with little or no fanfare...however one thing to realize, before opting out of your ophthalmologist refracting your vision, realize that most ophthalmologists are not in the business to sell eyeglasses..just medical evaluation and total eye care and if you don’t need eyeglasses, you don’t need them..BUT an eyeglass retail business offering “free exam” they ultimately want to sell you expensive eye glasses...Being in ophthalmology, I have seen many patients come into the office with glasses bought at a retail establishment perhaps with the “free exam” The lenses are plano ( plain glass or very very minimal correction) and thus the patient probably really didn’t require them...also, who is doing the refraction???? Just something to keep in mind....
Has a nice ring, huh?
Nothing new. Trips to the optometrist for vision exams (refraction) have generally never been covered by insurance. Maybe a few of those union-negotiated Cadillac plans cover it but, in my experience w/ a handful of employer provided plans, I’ve never had a refraction covered by insurance.
I am curious about your experience w/ health plans that do/did cover refraction. Do fill us in.
We discovered them last year, and the product is top quality and unbelievably priced.....Just Saturday I got a pair of progressive bifocals with bendable titanium frames and the 'Transitions' (darkem-lightem) feature - $72.00.
Give a study to Zenni Optical - online. Top quality, unbelievable prices. Just be sure and get your 'pupillary distance' from an eyecare person.
Personally, I feel outright fract.
Medicare is already rationing.
I know an elderly woman scheduled for knee transplant and Medicare denied a bone density test scheduled before the surgery because she was ‘too old’. The surgeon won’t do the surgery without the bone density test to determine the health of the underlying bone.
She is in shock about the government denying her coverage. I told her to get used to it and you are welcome for voting for Obama.
FWIW, I am on Medicare, saw my eye Dr. in Dec and he charged $20 for this.
Fract Obamacare.
And so it begins.
See you all at carousel!
I suppose having ones blood pressure checked isn't a "medical service" either.
ML/NJ
We will never have rational prices without patient exposure. What we have now with Medical programs and 3rd party insurances is government fiat pricing, the hallmark of a command economy.
I have some Aetna plan through my wife's employer and our thousands of dollars taken out of her paycheck.
But this isn't about insurance, I don't think. The doctor is using Medicare as an excuse to begin charging for something that has ALWAYS been included in EVERY eye exam I've ever had. It is as if your GP were to start charging you to check your blood pressure.
ML/NJ
My mother, who is on medicare, recently had an eye exam and she had to pay $20. Now I know why.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.