Have you read a health insurance plan recently?

[undeterred]

This is a vision plan (a little simpler but the same idea):

No benefits will be payable for a charge which is:

- for an eye exam to diagnose or treat a disease or injury
- for drugs or medicines
- for any vision care supply
- for any eye exam performed for the purpose of fitting contact lenses
- for any service or procedure provided by any other part of your benefits

Why don't they just tell you what you do get: $25 for one eye exam (for glasses) every twelve months OR a discount at providers they choose. Basically the PLAN is to get you to buy your glasses or contacts at the vendors of their choice.

What a joke.

[Fridays Child]

1. The definition of CDHC (consumer driven health care)...

You send us money every month. We send you reasons why you're not covered.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Just used my 'discount' for new lens and frames. Got $105 off of a

$463 bill.

[undeterred]

4. Its a ridiculous bill.

It does not cost that much to make glasses.

I've been seeing the Tylenol ads recently where some female exec type is telling the audience that she'd rather people not use her product at all than take too many. How virtuous of her.

Guess what lady, if people are taking too many Tylenol the chances are pretty damn good that they are in pain and have no health insurance. Tylenol is relatively cheap compared to prescription medication.

[On the Road]

5. I Doubt it Costs That Much, Too

Probably the next wave of Chinese imports is prescription lenses.

[jmowreader]

10. The blanks, maybe...

The finished lenses are made at the optician's shop. A $9/hour technician inserts blanks into a grinding machine, feeds in the prescription, and a few minutes later a finished lens pops out. She then sticks the ground lens into another machine, enters the description of the frame, and the lens is shaped to fit in the frame.

There's a reason why you can get glasses in an hour: computerized equipment.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. But I saved so much....

@ approved provider: glasses and frame, $400. After insurance payment, $280.
@ independent provider: glasses and frame, quality of frame similar: $185.

Woo hoo! I'm so glad that we have a vision plan.

That Tylenol ad is CYA over the potential liver damage from consuming too much acetaminophen but it's nice that they're showing their 'concern.'

[SoCalDem]

12. Here's another hint.. Go to a thrift shop and find any number

of nice frames... get your eyes tested and use those $2.00 frames...No need to pay $200 for frames at the optical place.. That's where you get screwed bigtime..

You would be amazed at home many really nice pairs of prescription glasses end up at Goodwill

[Zorra]

3. Yeah, I know exactly what you are saying.

My Health Insurance stinks. Just paid a co-pay on a dental bill. Ouch.

I should have gotten the work done in Mexico - I have a good dentist down there, and the exact same work, without any insurance whatsoever, would have cost me only 2/3 of the amount that I just co-payed.

[AzDar]

7. We have quite expensive (employer-provided) dental coverage, and

just found out that there is a 12-month waiting period for major work (which I need; Hubby just changed employers).
Even after the 12 months, it will cost over 1400 out-of-pocket to have 3 crowns replaced.
We are planning a trip to Los Algodones in a month or so to do the work...
The only reason we are keeping the dental ins. at all is because we have two little guys;
preventative is 100% (after a 100.00) per-patient annual deductible, of course.
Such a scam.

[China_cat]

6. Yeah.

In little tiny letters on the bottom of the last page of the 23 page policy is 'good only until needed'.

[undeterred]

8. Used to be we had a little "co-payment"

Now the corporate insurance companies have a little co-payment and we get to pick up the rest. Not having insurance truly sucks, but a lot of the insurance out there only takes the edge off paying out of pocket.

[Gabi Hayes]

9. my school district health plan...non-HMO version: ZERO for vision

HMO gives some coverage, but not much

drug copay has tripled/quintupled in three years, with drastic restrictions in what's even covered at all

worst is yet to come