Using Your Medical Insurance for Medical Eye Care

We Accept Many Insurance Plans in St.Louis and St. Charles

Our eye doctors in St. Louis and St. Charles work hard to help you find ways to lower the expense of healthy vision. We accept a range of insurance plans that offer helpful solutions, and our staff will review your policy with you to explain the coverage – and how to make the most of it.

Medical Insurance is Not the Same as Vision Insurance

There are two types of insurance for eye care: medical insurance and vision insurance. While vision insurance covers your optical needs, such as annual vision testing, eyeglasses, and contact lenses, it does not cover any part of your eye care that is considered “medical.” Many vision insurance plans also do not cover contact lens fittings and yearly evaluations.

Medical insurance covers cases that fall under medical necessity. Therefore, if you have an eye disease or problem that causes problems with your eyes, you can usually use your medical insurance. Some common examples of conditions for which we can bill your medical insurance include:

• Comprehensive eye exams, with dilation (not including the refraction – vision testing – part of the exam)
• Eye infection
• Diabetes eye exams
• Monitoring cataract development
• Examination of patients who use medications with possible ocular side effects, such as steroid medications, arthritis medications, etc.
• Management and treatment for macular degeneration
• Monitoring and treatment for glaucoma
• Emergency visit for loss of vision due to a medical condition

Tips for Using Your Medical Insurance

1. When you call our St. Louis and St. Charles eye care centers to book an appointment, be sure to tell us the purpose of your visit. That way we can bill the appropriate insurance.
2. Remember to bring your insurance card(s) with you to your appointment
3. Verify the number of visits you are entitled to per year; this amount can vary between different insurance policies
4. Clarify the deductibles and copayments involved. You will need to pay the deductible, which is then subtracted from the balance.
5. If you require both optical and medical eye care services (such as checking your vision prescription in addition to inspecting your cataract development), we can coordinate the benefits of your vision insurance and medical insurance plans in order to help you minimize your expenses. You may be able to use one policy to cover your eyewear and another to cover your medical needs.

At our St. Louis and St. Charles eye care practices, we aim to give you the most value for your vision! Our team will be pleased to help you understand your insurance policy and the best ways to use it. For more information, contact our Overland Optical Family Eye Care offices.

If you do not see your medical insurance plan listed below, call us to ask about it. Some plans that we accept: