How fees work

A routine eye exam is billed to a vision plan. A visit about an eye problem, a disease check or a follow-up is billed to medical insurance. Many visits mix both, and the office tells you which part goes where before you pay anything. A household plan is not insurance, so we bill your vision plan or medical insurance first and the plan covers what they do not. Medicare does not cover routine eye exams or glasses, with a few exceptions.

If you pay yourself, the fee covers the exam and the services you ask for. Fitting visits, lens options, coatings and replacement lenses are billed separately, and each is on your written estimate before you decide. Household plan members pay the same way for anything the plan does not include.

Ask for an itemized receipt and send it to your plan if it reimburses you. Your plan decides what it pays back. Your prescription is yours: you get a copy after every exam and fitting, and you can fill it anywhere.

If you pay without insurance, you have the right to a Good Faith Estimate in writing before your visit. Ask when you book. If a bill comes to $400 or more above the estimate, you can dispute it. The office also gives you the current household plan fee in writing before you join.

Before your visit Liz checks your benefits where she can and tells you what she finds. Please confirm with your plan too, because the plan has the final say.

A first visit is a full exam of about 45 minutes with Dr. Meijer. Bring your current glasses, your contact lenses if you wear them, and your vision plan or medical insurance card. You leave with a copy of your prescription and, if you join a household plan, a written copy of its terms.