Where can I buy vision insurance?
Have you ever wondered if you can buy your own vision insurance? Maybe your employer doesn’t offer it, or you just don’t feel like it’s enough coverage. Maybe you work for yourself or are a contract employee.
Whatever your situation, you can shop for your own vision insurance. And it’s not even that complicated.
You’re not limited to the vision plans offered by your employer, and if you’re on your own to find suitable coverage, you still have great, affordable options for vision insurance.
How much does it cost to buy vision insurance?
Yearly premiums for vision insurance run between $60 and $216, making your monthly payments range from $5 to $18. That’s about as much as you’re paying for your Netflix account. For the same amount of money, you could watch your favorite shows with better vision.
On top of monthly payments, however, you also have to consider copay costs. On average, copay for an eye exam is $10 and the copay for basic glasses is $25.
SEE RELATED: What is vision insurance and what does it cost?
How much is EyeMed monthly?
EyeMed has a number of affordable individual vision plans available.
EyeMed Healthy ($5/month): EyeMed Healthy is the base plan, which starts at just $5 per month. With this plan, you’ll receive discounts on frames, eyeglass lenses and contacts, and have eye exams covered by a copay.
EyeMed Bold ($17.50/month): The intermediate plan offers all the benefits of EyeMed Healthy plus an allowance for contacts and/or frames as well as eyeglass lenses covered by a copay.
EyeMed Bright ($30/month): EyeMed Bright is essentially the same plan as EyeMed Bold but offers family-wide coverage.
How much is VSP monthly?
Vision Service Plan (VSP) is the largest vision insurance provider in the country. Perhaps due to its large membership base, it offers one of the lowest costs for individual vision insurance at just $13 per month.
Which vision insurance is the best?
Online review sites such as RetirementLiving.com, LendEdu.com and TopTenReviews.com most commonly place VSP, EyeMed and Humana Vision in the top three spots for “best vision insurance providers.”
However, the “best” vision insurance plan according to online reviews might not be the right plan for you and your family.
For example, you may decide that the best plan for you is the cheapest option, which would be EyeMed Healthy at $5 per month. If you have extensive vision needs — meaning you have health conditions that could impact your eye health or have high visual impairment — then a more comprehensive vision plan may be better for you.
Research vision insurance providers, and find out what your preferred eye doctor accepts, to see which plan is best for you and your family.
SEE RELATED: How to select a vision insurance plan
Are vision insurance plans worth it?
Unlike medical insurance, which tends to come with high monthly premiums, vision insurance is reasonably affordable at less than $20 per month (sometimes much less) on average.
If you and your family keep up with routine eye exams and annually buy new glasses and/or contact lenses, the amount of money you’ll save by having vision insurance is greatly outweighed by the cost of the insurance itself.
Without insurance, the cost of eyeglasses ranges from $100 to $350. And that’s not even taking into account all the custom features you may be interested in, like designer frames, scratch-resistant or anti-glare coatings, or even photochromic lenses — all of which can be covered, depending on the coverage you select.
For routine, comprehensive eye exams, the cost without insurance can range from $100 to $200 per visit. Compare that to a $10 copay, and you can see right away that a vision plan is worth it.
FIND AN EYE DOCTOR NEAR YOU WHO ACCEPTS YOUR VISION INSURANCE: Our doctor locator makes it easy to find an eye doctor near you for eye exams, eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Page published on Friday, May 15, 2020
