Info on: dental & vision
In this day and age Vision Insurance is often considered an unneccessary health benefit. Many employers are considering cutting health benefits and dental and vision coverage is usually the first employee benefit to be eliminated.
Having vision insurance or some type of vision benefits program for your family is important, especially when one or more family members are visually impaired. Prescription glasses and contacts can be expensive and if there is a way to reduce vision care costs you would want to know about it.
While most health insurance companies prefer to sell health insurance to employee groups, there are companies that do sell health and vision insurance online to individuals and families. In preparation for writing this article I found a vision insurance company selling plans online and reviewed the associated costs. I was rather shocked at what I found out.
For a family of three in Washington State, the vision insurancebenefits would cost $444.95 annually. For a family of two the price would be $324.95 and for an individual the cost is $169.95. There were no monthly payment options. Obviously in the Insurance Industry they must collect the cash first before they pay out on any benefits.
So what benefits would someone get if they enrolled on that companies vision insurance plan? I did a little more research and compared the benefits of vision insurance versus a vision discount program, like AmeriPlan®. Here is what I found out.
| Comparison | (VSP) Vision Insurance Company | AmeriPlan Vision Benefits |
| Plan Costs | $444.95 annually - Family of 3 | $179.40 Entire Household |
| Payment Options | Annual Payment | Monthly ($14.95), Quarterly or Annually |
| Exams | One per year,per member. $15 Co-Pay | NO LIMITS on EXAMS -10-50% Discount - Varies per provider. |
| Prescription Lenses | One pair per year, per member. $25 Co-Pay | NO LIMIT ON LENSES - 20-60% Discount on All Lenses |
| Frames | One pair per year, per member. $120 allowance | NO LIMIT ON FRAMES - 20-60% Discount on All Frames |
| Contact Lenses | $120 allowance for Contacts and Contact Lens Exam | 10-40% Discount on Contact Lenses(mailorder) 10-20% retail store. |
| Additional Benefits? | Not Included at that price. | Three additional programs included. |
| Limitations | Services and Optical Products limited. | No Limits on Visits or Services. |
Find out more about better vision program