quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
The prescription is the most noticeable but not the most import part of the exam. They also check for glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and diabetic eye disease - just off the top of my head.

Should it be a legal requirement, though? It does parallel the rest of our health care - I can only get so many refills of my meds before I have to see a doctor to have the prescriptions renewed. That's also a legal requirement.

My employer based insurance doesn't cover eye exams. While a basic exam for glasses costs $150 in my area, every medical item they check results in another charge code and that exam quickly increases to over $400. The incentive now is to say I just want glasses not to check anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by bryan11:

a basic exam for glasses costs $150 in my area, every medical item they check results in another charge code and that exam quickly increases to over $400.

Wow! I just wanted some El Cheapo glasses for desk work, lined bifocals, upper portion intermediate distance for computer monitor, lower portion for reading.

Did not want / need anything fancy so I went to a low-price chain place. Exam was free if I bought the glasses there. Two pair in cheap frames, less than a hundred bucks total, exam and glasses.

But wait, that's not all! You're a veteran? That gets a discount. If I remember correctly my out-the-door cost was around seventy bucks. Can't beat that with a stick!

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
That is the law in every state I have experience with. Usually a prescription for glasses is valid for 12 months.

That must not be the case in California. I just ordered a new pair of glasses off a prescription that's 7 years old. I did state that the glasses were intended for home use only, so perhaps that's a loophole; however, while ordering those, I also got a new set of driving lenses for my current frames off a prescription that's 24 months old.

I lost my backup, backup pair in boating incident in March. Seriously, true story. Fortunately due to the VID, I was able to get an appointment for an eye exam two months later in May.

Also fortunate that my kids were doing school at home and nothing was open, so I didn't have to drive anywhere except Publix and Target every other day for my 1 pound allotment of ground beef, 1 dozen eggs, and 4 rolls of toilet paper. I could drive to those places in the dark with my eyes closed. Jedi got nothing on me.

I can see both sides. People often expect to get things for free at the doctor but not at the grocery store. I have worn glasses my entire life and never had this issue, but I do not own a boat.