what is vision care insurance 
vision care insurance will often cover routine eye health expenses such as eye exams contact lens fittings contact lenses and eyeglass lenses and frames some plans may even provide a discount on lasik procedures and other corrective surgeries a vision care plan may cover the cost of these items in total up to a preset limit or it may require the policyholder to pay a flat fee or percentage fee to share the expense with the insurer understanding vision care insurancevision care insurance tends to be inexpensive compared to other types of insurance because many of the covered costs are predictable and expensive claims are rare it resembles a discount plan more closely than an actual insurance plan because insurance protects against unforeseen and potentially catastrophic expenses it s essential you fully understand each plan s costs and the benefits they come with when you buy vision care insurance take a look at the price for one year of vision insurance compared with the cost of an eye exam although vision care insurance is inexpensive it may not be a good deal for the consumer if the premiums and co payments under the plan are higher than paying for vision care expenses out of pocket the cost of vision care insurance depends on your plan but you may pay as little as 5 a month for a basic plan from your employer or buying a plan directly from a provider for example vsp vision insurance offers a 13 a month premium 1special considerationseye diseases which are unpredictable and expensive to treat will generally be covered by health insurance not vision care insurance vision care coverage through many employer sponsored health plans generally works a little differently than other health insurance or major medical insurance plans because eye exams can detect hidden medical problems even those with perfect vision should get one from time to time as someone ages they ll need more frequent vision exams according to the mayo clinic 2 people with poor vision a family history of eye disease or a condition that increases the risk of eye disease like diabetes should have more frequent exams 3 if routine exams are all that will be needed then the cost of insurance probably isn t worth it before purchasing eye care insurance think about what you need in regard to your health and what offerings that insurance provides that you will use such as discounted lenses availability of vision care insurancevision care insurance can often be obtained through your employer association union or government programs like medicare or medicaid most vision insurance providers also offer policies that you can purchase individually vision insurance is often a value added benefit linked to indemnity health insurance health maintenance organizations hmos and preferred provider organizations ppos contracted with managed vision care networks to provide eye care services advantages and disadvantages of vision insurancethere are benefits and limitations to vision insurance and whether you should get it or not may depend on how badly you need it if you have a history of eye related medical needs it may be worth the extra money to purchase vision insurance if you only go to the eye doctor once a year for routine check ups it might not be necessary for you to buy an expensive eye care insurance plan overall vision care insurance isn t expensive and it may save you money over time especially if you have recurring eye care troubles or regularly purchase corrective lenses if you end up needing eye surgery it can help with the cost as well cons of vision insurance are that it may not necessarily cover the type of service you need or will not allow you to travel out of its network for treatment in addition if there is a specific brand of lenses you like using or specialized lenses or frames it may offer a limited line of brands these can often be easily added onto insurance plans you can also buy a plan individually premiums are not expensive the plans offset the cost of corrective lenses you may not be able to use out of network services if you don t need regular eye care it may not be worth the money some vision care insurance limits what you can purchase in terms of eye wear 