Insurance information
We are in-network for most of the local insurance plans. Our staff can call ahead of time and get an estimate of your insurance benefits.
Vision Plans vs Medical Insurance
Vision insurance plans cover different types of exams compared to your medical insurance.
- Vision plans will only cover a basic well-vision exam. Red eye, office visits, diabetic exams or medical retinal photos will be covered under your medical insurance.
- The medical portion of an exam can be billed to your medical insurance when there is a medical diagnosis (such as cataract, diabetes or high blood pressure). The refractive portion in most cases, cannot be medically billed.
- Vision and medical insurance usually have separate and different copays, coinsurance and deductible.
- Glasses and contact lenses are billed to your vision coverage. Medically necessary contact lenses that are prescribed to treat certain corneal conditions may be billed to your medical coverage.
- Visual field tests, retinal photos and most office visits are billed to your medical insurance.
- Your vision insurance may not always be provided by the same company as your medical insurance.
- We may be a provider for your vision insurance, but not your medical insurance. Conversely, we may be a provider for your medical insurance, but not your vision insurance.
Important insurance details to know
There are so many details to know about how your insurance works. We do our best to help you navigate through it all, but it’s impossible for us to know the nuances of every plan. We recommend that for more detailed information on your benefits, please consult the benefits information provided by your employer's HR department and/or follow the links listed below.
We’ve put together a few must know details:
- In most cases, we can only bill your primary insurance coverage.
- If you are double covered, insurance regulations require us to bill your primary insurance first even if your secondary is better coverage.
- Please remember that we can only provide you with an estimate of your coverage and not a guarantee of what your insurance company will actually pay.
- We provide you with the information quoted to us by your insurance company. Please be aware that this information is not always accurate. We do our best to get an accurate quote of your benefits, but insurances may quote the wrong benefits, omit co-pays and deductibles or say your eligible when you’re not.
- You are responsible for any non-covered charges regardless of the estimate provided to you at the time of service.
- It takes most insurance companies 1-3 months to process a claim. If there are any balances owing, it would not be uncommon to receive a statement from us 4-5 months after your service date.
- Should it become necessary, you are responsible for the cost of any collections proceedings, court costs and reasonable legal fees.
Tip
With all the recent changes from the Affordable Care Act, Insurance companies have become very strict on the details. Please provide us your current insurance card at every visit. Subtle details like group numbers or insurance billing addresses can change without your noticing. Billing with outdated information can cause delays or outright denials.
Village Eye Care, LLC
9606 271st Street NW
Stanwood, Washington 98292
Phone: 360-939-0604
FAX: 360-939-2268