OT: Eye Plans a good deal?

[pcxmbfj]

My health insurance supplier is now offering eye coverage from VSP.
Any studied opinions as to the benefit of eye insurance versus just paying out of pocket?

[Jaybee]

My VSP premium is vanishingly small (less than $1/pay period) and it means new lenses/frames and an exam once a year. I think it's a good deal.

[Blue Jays]

Insurance vision plans are typically an inexpensive addition to a comprehensive approach to health insurance.
I traditionally opt for the most detailed plan that my employer offers to provide a bit more peace-of-mind.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by pcxmbfj

My health insurance supplier is now offering eye coverage from VSP.
Any studied opinions as to the benefit of eye insurance versus just paying out of pocket?

all depends on your needs and what is covered

for instance, most don't cover contact lenses unless one has to wear them. So lens fittings and the material are not covered

many also don't offer much on high index lenses and such

I eventually decided to opt out and just put more in FSA/HSA

[ultraman6970]

IMO all depends of what you have.. some eye problems need to be constantly checked and those eye plans can help a lot. But check really well because for example mine is ok but my eye doctor doesnt take them and when i get glasses done I dont go to the 10 bucks ones down the road so the vision plan is not going to make it for me.

But IME if you go once a year and then you get the lenses made and if you like fancy stuff I would advice you to have and FSA and put your glasses there you know.

With an FSA you can spend 2ks in lenses (making up numbers) and pretically you are going to pay that monthly and even the insurance company sometimes cover a % aswell... for example a 1000 bucks FSA for me i end up paying like 750 total at year, somebody put the rest.

[pdmtong]

VSP did not pencil out for our needs. The allowances for lenses and frames and contacts is minimal

We went the HSA route

[echappist]

Originally Posted by ultraman6970

IMO all depends of what you have.. some eye problems need to be constantly checked and those eye plans can help a lot. But check really well because for example mine is ok but my eye doctor doesnt take them and when i get glasses done I dont go to the 10 bucks ones down the road so the vision plan is not going to make it for me.

But IME if you go once a year and then you get the lenses made and if you like fancy stuff I would advice you to have and FSA and put your glasses there you know.

With an FSA you can spend 2ks in lenses (making up numbers) and pretically you are going to pay that monthly and even the insurance company sometimes cover a % aswell... for example a 1000 bucks FSA for me i end up paying like 750 total at year, somebody put the rest.

isn't that the purview of an ophthalmologist (cf. optometrist)? Eye plans are for corrective lenses and such (duties performed by an optometrist)

[makoti]

I can't say it's an actually good deal, but the premium is like $.53 a pay period, so almost anything I get is worth it.

[KonaSS]

My employer offers VSP and I have 3 glasses wearers in the house, but none with extensive issues.

The VSP covers vision test and lenses every year, but only covers frames every other year. So.....in my household, I only PAY for the coverage every other year. Everyone gets tested, frames and lenses. And we are good!

[fmradio516]

Im with VSP with work... its a few bucks here and there but i get an eye exam, free lenses, and up to $250 worth of frames a year. worth it to me.

[bpm]

My vison coverage is through Davis Vision. I think my total premium for the year is something like $75, and that's for family coverage. It covers annual eye exams, contact lenses up to a certain amount, glasses up to a certain amount, and a few other things. My daughter and I both wear contact lenses and the plan covers 100% of the cost of the lenses each of us wear, so the cost of the vision coverage is well worth it for us.

[Tandem Rider]

I just went through this a few hours ago. MrsTR and my daughter both wear glasses, for less than a couple bucks a week, it's a good deal, if less than 2 glasses wearers, it's not worth it under the plan I am offered.

[josephr]

VSP thru my employer...they pay most of the premium...mine is $10/mnth for family. We get yearly eye exams and a years' worth of contacts up to $250 which is usually under the costco prices. you have the glasses option too, but only a new pair of glasses every two years, but then you don't get contacts. It helps that I have family, but if I was an individual, it'd be a wash, since I get everything from costco anyway.

note-my costco eye doc just stopped taking vsp, so now I gotta go somewhere else. costco vision center still takes vsp though.

[slowpoke]

VSPs and FSA/HSAs aren't mutually exclusive. If your VSP prices are trivial (i.e. less than $5/month), I'd still opt into the VSP and cover the rest with your FSA/HSA.

Generally, most VSPs will cover at least $100-200 towards frames.

Or you can just go the Zenni / Warby Parker / JINS route and try to avoid the Luxottica conglomerate.

[benb]

I've had VSP for about 5 years, I cover my wife and I and it's something like $8 or $16/month, it's cheap, I can't remember if that one is quoted per paycheck or per month. I just had open enrollment, they offered us a "VSP Plus" or something this year that was about 3X as expensive and I didn't take it. It basically just gave you more allowance on your glasses.

It's really a "EssilorLuxottica purchase plan". EssilorLuxottica owns it IIRC, so they get the money from your premiums too! EssilorLuxottica likely has a pretty solid capture of your local eye doctors that accept VSP.

If you need glasses your medical insurance will usually cover all the health related parts of eye exams. VSP just helps out with buying glasses/contacts.

I just also got new glasses, and once again despite my grumblings I just bought whatever caught my fancy at the eye doctor. I did NOT order a pair of Rx Sunglasses though, so that's an improvement. Not sure if I will keep them but I'm trying the latest Transitions lenses on a 30 day trial.. they were a $60 charge, I am self conscious about them not getting clear enough indoors but not buying a $500 pair of Rx sunglasses is very attractive. These latest ones change from clear to sunglasses incredibly quickly (30 seconds?) but they are still slow changing from sunglasses to clear in the freezing cold weather right now. No one has been able to tell they are Transitions when they are clear though. But I will still probably end up buying some new lenses from Sports Optical too!

TLDR: You can just buy glasses cash from Warby Parker or Zenni or something and come out ahead and skip VSP. If you're attached to just letting your eye doctor get it right and getting nice frames VSP is probably worth it.