Types and sources of vision insurance

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As the name reflects, vision insurance is a kind of insurance, and it is usually for eye care. Compared with health insurance which protects you against financial losses caused by disease or eye injury, vision insurance pays more attention to the routine eye care. Under the coverage of certain vision insurance, people can get access to related services rendered by eye care professionals such as ophthalmologists and optometrists. Currently, there are many vision insurance companies. For instance, Vision Service Plan (VSP) is one of the most famous in the United States.

What services are typically covered by vision insurance?

Vision insurance is actually a subset of health insurance. But all services covered by most vision insurance plans are exactly linked with eye health. Generally speaking, vision insurance can provide you with annual eye examinations, eyeglass frames and lenses. What’s more, most vision insurance plans now also cover contact lenses. It is quite convenient to get necessary services from any member doctor of the insurance network.

Two main types of vision insurance plans

There are two kinds of vision insurance plans. One is vision benefits package. You only need to pay an annual premium or membership fee ranging from $0 to $35 and a co-pay of $10 to $15 for each network service. Another type is the discount vision plan, which offers a fixed discount for eye care after enrolled members have paid for an annual premium or membership fee. Both kinds of vision insurance meet different requirements and customers can be school districts, unions, and companies.

Two types of vision insurance providers

Organizations that provide vision insurance can be divided into two categories. Usually, vision insurance is a value-added benefit linked to health insurance. As a result, sometimes it belongs to health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Healthcare providers of an HMO can be hospitals, laboratories and the like. Preferred provider organization (PPO) is a network organized to offer healthcare services to health plan members at a fixed rate below retail prices. If you access out-of-network services, they will cost you much more.

How to make a choice?

You can obtain group vision insurance through your company, association, school district and the like. In this way, you can save money because income that has been set aside for health costs will not be devalued by taxation. If you choose an individual vision insurance plan, you may need to pay fees monthly or annually.