As we get closer to open enrollment, let’s shift our focus to vision insurance.
Top tip: vision insurance has nothing to do with open enrollment!
A lot of people think that the only time they can enroll in vision insurance is during the open enrollment, and it’s just not true. Vision insurance enrollment is open all year long. We can enroll you at any point during the year. I recommend to my clients to think about vision insurance during open enrollment because it is a one-year commitment, so starting at the start of the year makes sense.
Top tip: the primary goal of vision insurance is to help with the cost of glasses and contacts.
What people do not realize is that vision insurance does not cover cataracts, and it does not cover glaucoma or surgery. If you need surgery of some kind on your eyes, that is going to be covered under your medical insurance. A lot of times I’ll advise my clients, that if they don’t wear glasses or contacts, you don’t need vision insurance. If you want to get an eye exam, sometimes your insurance pays for it, and sometimes it doesn’t. If you’re seeing the doctor in-network, it might pay. But if you need glasses, you’ll want to have vision insurance.
Recommendation:
When it comes to my recommendation, I love VSP vision insurance, because it’s nationwide. Yes, it does depend on which state you live in, but there’s a huge, huge network of VSP providers, and it’s hard to find an optometrist who does not accept VSP insurance. It is also very affordable for an individual; it’s only $16.94 a month. And what do you get for that $16.94 a month? Well, besides being able to enroll at any point, you get a copay of just $15 for an eye exam, and an allowance for glasses, or contacts. You get a $150 discount, but that is not all you save, because anything over the allowance, you get a 20% discount. I recently had a client that bought vision insurance and paid their $15 copay. And when they went to get their glasses, their glasses still came out at about $450. And they asked, “How much would it have been if I didn’t have this insurance?”. The optometrist said it would have been almost $1,000 for the glasses. So, my client received a huge discount, and it was very well worth it. You only do get one allowance per year. So keep that in mind for kids (you know, kids break things!)
