VSP Insurance

My company is changing to VSP insurance but the way I am reading the
plan I get NO actual coverige and was wondering what any of you think.

I will pay $150 out of my check each year. (this is to cover 2
people)
I thin will have to pay $20 for basic examin and $20 for frames per
person.
And there is a max allowance of $120 per year per person.

So if I am doing my math correctly.
150 + 20 ex1 + 20 fr1 + 20 ex2 + 20 fr2 = $240 per year
ex 1 is the examin for person one
fr1 is the frames for person one
$120 x 2 = $240 per year max allowance.

So if I am seeing this correctly, I have no coverige.

Thanks for your time and help on this.

 

Be very careful on this one. My office has never been a VSP provider,
because it never seemed to make sense economically for the patient.
When you have VSP you also are restricted to use your benefits at a VSP
provider. To be a VSP provider, a practice must be owned by
optometrists and never by opticians. So, all of your convenient retail
opticals in malls cannot be VSP providers.

 

Do yourself and your eye doctor a favor, and pay out-of-pocket.

DrG

 

The $120 allowance is probably just the frame retail allowance. Should
you choose a frame over that allowance, you'd have to pay a calculated
"overage" charge.

Figure (reasonable estimates in California as example) $100 for exam
plus eyeglasses with a frame retail of $120 and lens cost of $120.
That's a total of $340 of services for which you pay $40. Actual
out-of-pocket including YOUR payment into plan is $190 for a total
"savings" of $150. Add the cost of the employer's contribution and the
reduction in actual money paid to the doctor, if you'd like, to find the
true value of the plan.

VSP is not a bad choice, but is only useful and appropriate if you
actually fully utilize the benefits. You could also put that $150 into
a medical savings plan account, making it "worth" about $225, pay the
doctor in cash, perhaps asking for a discount for being a loyal cash
paying client, and realize about the same net out-of-pocket costs.

As Dr. G suggests, you could just pay out-of-pocket and be able to
choose any doctor or eyewear provider of your choice. The first step
might be to go to the VSP website and see if your preferred doctor is a
provider. Do factor in the value of your relationship with the doctor.
That could be the deal maker/breaker right there!

LB, O.D.