Frequently Asked Questions

Though we accept most insurance plans, we encourage you to call us to gain a clearer understanding of what benefits your insurer allows and learn about other means of financing your eye and vision care.

Vision Plans Accepted:

• Avesis
• Eyemed
• Spectera
• Superior
• VSP

Medicare Advantage Plans:

• AARP (not UHC West-back of card bottom centre)
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medicare Advantage

Medical Plans Accepted:

• Aetna
• Ameriben
• Anthem
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal
• Cigna
• GEHA
• Humana
• Medicare
• Meritain
• Southwest Teamsters
• Tricare
• Triwest PC3
• United Health Care

We accept other plans as well, so if you do not see your plan listed here, please give us a call and we would be happy to assist you. Please contact your insurance provider for specific details regarding your benefits.

Vision benefits cover vision-related services and may be used for care related to the refractive condition, or vision of the eye. Visits for glasses and contact lenses are differentiated from “eye health” visits that involve a medical condition that requires medical treatment. In the event your doctor discovers a medical reason to be the cause of your vision problem which requires follow-up care, vision benefits will not cover it.

Many patients have a vision plan to cover their annual eye examination. Some vision plans are part of your medical insurance. If you do not have a vision insurance plan, you may schedule your visit under your medical insurance.

Vision insurance may pay for the majority of the cost of a routine eye exam when blurry vision, eyestrain or headaches are a problem. A routine eye exam is when your doctor checks your vision, analyzes your eyeglass / contact lens prescription and evaluates your entire eye health. Vision insurance may also cover some of the cost of materials, such as glasses or contact lenses. Most vision insurances usually limit the coverage to one exam per year.

If your doctor is finds a health condition or is concerned about a potential medical condition during your eye exam we may need to schedule you to return for a medical office visit, for which you may use your medical insurance. Medical conditions can be any problem from dry eyes to sight-threatening eye disease. Medical insurance is used when your doctor needs to perform more testing, special diagnostic procedures, or follow you to monitor a condition. Medical insurance will be submitted for as many visits as required for medical causes of blurry vision such as dry eyes, cataracts and glaucoma.

If we are not notified 24 hours in advance that you are unable to keep your appointment, you will be subject to a $50.00 no-show fee.

We accept cash, checks, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover & Care Credit. We also offer payment plans. Please ask our staff for details.

Care credit is a program that allows you to make purchases at AVC and pay them off monthly instead of all at once. Applying takes just a minute, and it’s usually easy to be approved. With care credit you’re able to get up to 12 months of interest-free financing! Ask our staff how to get started. In the unusual case you are not approved for care credit, we offer 4 months interest-free financing on all purchases of over $400. There is a $15 fee for this payment plan and this way, we spread the payment out over 4 months to make it easier on the purse.

Comprehensive eye exams include tests that determine general eye health and refractive status for glasses prescriptions. Contact lenses are medical devices that may have certain health implications if not prescribed correctly. Contact lens fittings and evaluations require additional time and expertise to determine which contact lenses are best to maximize vision and eye health; therefore, there are additional fees for this service.

Your contact lenses are fitted to your eyes to ensure minimal risk of infection and irritation, and so you see well. During the year, your eyes can change in their prescription and health, making it important for your doctor to ensure your eyes continue to have good vision and minimize to risk of red eyes and discomfort.

When you wear glasses, the lenses are located front of your eyes. Contact lenses are directly on your eyes. Due to optics (refraction of light), this difference in the distance between the lens and your eye is one reason the numbers in your prescription may be different from glasses to contacts. The other reason is that with contact lenses, because they lie directly on the surface of the eye (on a layer of tears), your doctor must ensure they have the right size, curvature, material, movement and orientation so they fit properly, they breathe well and give you the best vision possible.

Our contact lens fitting fees are based on the type of contacts your eyes need, based on your prescription, the shape and health of your eyes, and the complexity of the lens design. We will thoroughly explain the these considerations and review the lens type with you before finalizing your prescription.

Ortho-K is a premium contact lens therapy much like LASIK or other cosmetic procedures. The treatment with Ortho-K takes much more time and expertise than standard contact lens fittings. Additionally, the process involves several visits, exchange of materials and patient education. As a result, your monetary investment is more at first, but typically lowers after the initial fitting.

Each brand and model of contact lens has its own price, but generally our prices are competitive with other providers. We make sure you get the best rebates and we make every effort to maximize your insurance contribution. We also offer value-added services for patients who purchase their year’s supply from our office, such as discounts on non-prescription sun-wear like Oakley, Ray-Ban, Gucci, and other recommended brands. We also provide services like easy box return and/or exchange, and free trial lenses when you’re running low (for patients who purchase their year’s supply from us).

Not at all. In fact, you might end up paying more. At Advanced Vision Care and Dry Eye Spa, our contact lens prices are similar or even better than online and commercial retailers. With the additional services we provide as part of your purchase, our prices have a better value than any online store.
With every annual supply of soft contacts, we provide:

• FREE replacements if you rip, tear or even lose a lens.
• FREE follow-up visits related to your contact lenses within 3 months
• FREE SHIPPING to home, office or school
• MONEY-BACK rebates that apply, and we help you get it
• 10% OFF our Dry Eye Spa treatments.
• $50 TOWARD your favorite pair of non-prescription sunglasses*
  * offer excludes any other sale/promo/insurance or package deals

So in addition to our contact lens prices often being less than online retailers, you’ll save about $10 on shipping, up to $200 with our rebate, and $50 on non-Rx sunglasses, which makes purchasing contacts from AVC a much greater value!

Absolutely. After receiving an eye exam you are entitled to your eyeglass prescription for a period of 2 years and we are happy to provide it. We do, however, provide some warnings for those shopping around. We regularly find ourselves consulting on poorly made and poorly fitted glasses, as well as poorly recommended lens options that don’t meet the patient’s specific vision needs.

As in any market, you can find products and services at a range of prices, and especially in eyewear materials, you tend to get what you pay for. However, when it comes to precision devices like eyeglasses, performance is directly related to three things: (1) Optics (2) Taking accurate measurements and (3) Fitting expertice of the optician to help customize the lenses to your specific needs. Your glasses will work best if they are made correctly, which requires customization, and being made from materials made with precision instruments and whose optics don’t impede the transmission of light from the objects you focus on. Lenses with suitable optics are not the least expensive lenses around, and exceptional opticians are hard to find. Sometimes there are unexpected costs when purchasing cheap (often inferior) optical products, such as poorly made lenses, poorly fit frames and poor lens choices that don’t necessarily match your specific needs. This can result in your needing to return (repeatedly) to the merchant and lead to a great deal of avoidable frustration.

At Advance Vision Care, we only sell lenses with the best optics and frames fit by expert opticians. We guarantee your glasses will be perfect and we guarantee you will feel you received the best value in products and exceptional service.

Ophthalmologists and optometrists are both eye care professionals that diagnose and treat vision disorders, eye injuries, infections, inflammations and eye diseases, but only ophthalmologists perform surgery. Optometrists fit contact lenses and glasses, and treat eye conditions that do not require surgery. When surgery or the expertise of a medical specialist is required, optometrists refer patients to an ophthalmologist. This is similar to how a primary care physician refers patients to a specialist. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors (MD or DO), while optometrists hold a doctor of optometry (OD) degree.

Opticians work in the optical and specialize in fitting, ordering and dispensing eyeglasses, perform contact lens training, ordering and dispensing, in addition to other devices that can help improve vision.