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One factor the article missed is that your vision insurance also covers the eye exam. VSP covered $180 of my most recent exam, which is more than I pay annually

One factor the article missed is that your vision insurance also covers the eye exam. VSP covered $180 of my most recent exam, which is more than I pay annually in premiums. Therefore, by including the entire premium in the cost of glasses with insurance, I think the article overstates its case. (One could probably argue that the exam cost is higher because of insurance, but the article didn't make that claim.)

lostboys67 9y ago
$180 is only part of the cost of the exam! its < £25 in the uk for an eye exam
- rjmorris 9y ago
  The total was $190. My insurance statement says it was $50 for refraction (coming up with the prescription, I assume) and $140 for the rest of the exam.
walterbell 9y ago
Optometrists have at least a 10% error rate. That’s for prescriptions so wrong that the patient cannot “adapt” (read: their brain cannot error correct) the lens. An even greater percentage of prescription or lens errors are corrected by the brain’s visual cortex, which means the brain is doing avoidable work and wasting energy. Warby Parker charges $40 for an online exam: https://www.warbyparker.com/prescription-check-app https://www.warbyparker.com/prescription-check-app Smart Vision Labs startup is lowering cost and improving accuracy via telemedicine and better auto-refraction, http://nordic.businessinsider.com/smart-vision-labs-iphone-powered-eye-exams-warby-parker-stores-2017-2/ http://nordic.businessinsider.com/smart-vision-labs-iphone-p...
- rjmorris 9y ago
  An eye exam is more than just getting your prescription, though. They also screen you for eye diseases and assess your overall eye health, which the online services don't do.
  - criddell 9y ago
    I just had an eye exam last month and it was around $50. That was just for the prescription and it took around 15 minutes. Everything else was an up charge. The most expensive option was some kind of scan of my retina for an additional $40.

lostboys67 9y ago

$180 is only part of the cost of the exam! its < £25 in the uk for an eye exam

rjmorris 9y ago
The total was $190. My insurance statement says it was $50 for refraction (coming up with the prescription, I assume) and $140 for the rest of the exam.

walterbell 9y ago

Optometrists have at least a 10% error rate. That’s for prescriptions so wrong that the patient cannot “adapt” (read: their brain cannot error correct) the lens. An even greater percentage of prescription or lens errors are corrected by the brain’s visual cortex, which means the brain is doing avoidable work and wasting energy. Warby Parker charges $40 for an online exam: https://www.warbyparker.com/prescription-check-app https://www.warbyparker.com/prescription-check-app Smart Vision Labs startup is lowering cost and improving accuracy via telemedicine and better auto-refraction, http://nordic.businessinsider.com/smart-vision-labs-iphone-powered-eye-exams-warby-parker-stores-2017-2/ http://nordic.businessinsider.com/smart-vision-labs-iphone-p...

rjmorris 9y ago
An eye exam is more than just getting your prescription, though. They also screen you for eye diseases and assess your overall eye health, which the online services don't do.
- criddell 9y ago
  I just had an eye exam last month and it was around $50. That was just for the prescription and it took around 15 minutes. Everything else was an up charge. The most expensive option was some kind of scan of my retina for an additional $40.