Anonymous wrote:You're planning to pay less than your share of the actual cost of your child's glasses because you think your ex should have spent less? You may think of glasses as a commodity for which style doesn't matter, but that doesn't mean your child feels the same way. As someone who went through my adolescence wearing awful glasses because my mother shared your attitude, I applaud your ex's decision to let you child find a pair of glasses they like rather than sticking with the lowest cost option.

I think you're misreading my post. The exact same glasses that she bought out of network for $300 would have been $60 in network (out of network is not covered). The question is who pays for her choice to go out of network rather than one of the 20 in-network providers within 5 miles of her. Further, there is a court order for me to provide health/dental/vision so I'm paying premiums for an insurance she decided not to use.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't figure out what CP means.

I think it means custodial parent.

OP, I've had glasses for most of my life, and it was not until my current job that I had vision insurance that actually paid for my glasses. Most vision insurance is pretty useless, especially if you have a tricky prescription as some PPs have suggested. The cheapest and best option in my experience has been buying from Zenni online - and some insurance companies will reimburse for glasses bought online so it's worth a try. Buying online will cut your expense much more than insurance will in pretty much every case.

OP here, I guess my vision insurance is better than most. $200 allowance for frames w/ $20 copay, $20 copay for lenses and $20 copay for coatings. So for me my last pair of glasses was $60 total.

That Zenni site is amazing, $20 frames...I knew there was a markup on glasses but I had no idea it was that huge.

You're planning to pay less than your share of the actual cost of your child's glasses because you think your ex should have spent less? You may think of glasses as a commodity for which style doesn't matter, but that doesn't mean your child feels the same way. As someone who went through my adolescence wearing awful glasses because my mother shared your attitude, I applaud your ex's decision to let you child find a pair of glasses they like rather than sticking with the lowest cost option.

Vision insurance for my job was $23 per pay period if I remember correctly. And it has a copay. I calculated that the premiums and copay were more expensive than glasses I could buy at Warby Parker. I usually wear my glasses for a few years too. So it wasn’t worth it for me to purchase the vision insurance. So it depends on your premiums and copay and what you buy. My job seems to be pretty stingy.

Try Zenni opticals, much cheaper than warby parker. Most of the opticians are going to get out of business of selling glasses because they are so overpriced.

Anonymous wrote:Can't figure out what CP means.

I think it means custodial parent.

OP, I've had glasses for most of my life, and it was not until my current job that I had vision insurance that actually paid for my glasses. Most vision insurance is pretty useless, especially if you have a tricky prescription as some PPs have suggested. The cheapest and best option in my experience has been buying from Zenni online - and some insurance companies will reimburse for glasses bought online so it's worth a try. Buying online will cut your expense much more than insurance will in pretty much every case.

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the company. I find with places like Target, you are better off paying and submitting it to your insurance and with others like Costco, which has better pricing, its better to go through insurance.

Went to Costo. Then sent bill to vision insurance, which remimbursed me.

Can't figure out what CP means.

Admittedly I am wealthy, but I wear eyeglasses literally every single day. I buy very expensive frames. Usually, $500-$1000. I usually buy a new pair every 2 years or so. From a per wear perspective they are the cheapest article or clothing I own bar none and have the single most dramatic effect on my look.

Whatever the insurance company pays I take, but it absolutely does not affect where i shop for them.

We have never gotten eyeglasses through our insurance. Our insurance only covers glasses through LensCrafters or four eyes. My prescription is too complicated and LensCrafters has screwed it up several times in the past, so I stay away from them and go to a different provider. My husband has used for eyes in the past and the quality was not great. When my daughter needed glasses I took her to the same provider that I go to, because I trust them. So while we don’t have our eyeglasses covered by insurance, we do submit them as a medical expense on our taxes. For me, it’s quality of product and customer service they count more than whether or not they’re covered by insurance. But, like I said our coverage is limited.

Sometimes, like if certain retailers offer something specific: 2 pairs for one, lower prices (like Costco), good prices on contact lens exam, preference for a certain doctor (yes you can order glasses anywhere but some places give you the hard sell and pressure you before giving you the prescription...).

Also yes most places have a variety, but for my last pair I needed one very lightweight that would be comfortable for extended wear, because I needed to wear glasses more often. I shopped around until I found an extremely lightweight brand carried at for eyes. They don’t take my insurance so it was out of pocket.

Honestly the insurance rules and allowances can be kind of difficult to navigate, so I wouldn’t necessarily assume someone was trying to make you pay more than necessary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the company. I find with places like Target, you are better off paying and submitting it to your insurance and with others like Costco, which has better pricing, its better to go through insurance.

OP here and with my insurance there are in-network and out of network providers and the allowances for out of network providers are dramatically less than for in-network providers. Frames, for example, have a $200 allowance in-network vs. a $70 allowance out of network. I know for my own glasses my frames generally end up being $20 and my lenses are about $40 after co-pays.

ok?

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the company. I find with places like Target, you are better off paying and submitting it to your insurance and with others like Costco, which has better pricing, its better to go through insurance.

OP here and with my insurance there are in-network and out of network providers and the allowances for out of network providers are dramatically less than for in-network providers. Frames, for example, have a $200 allowance in-network vs. a $70 allowance out of network. I know for my own glasses my frames generally end up being $20 and my lenses are about $40 after co-pays.

It depends on the company. I find with places like Target, you are better off paying and submitting it to your insurance and with others like Costco, which has better pricing, its better to go through insurance.

I can't come up with one. There are about 20 providers that accept my insurance within 5 miles of the CP but she went to an out of network place. I think of glasses as a commodity product that are more or less the same anywhere especially since Luxottica sells the substantial majority of all eye glasses in the U.S.

By not using the insurance the eye glasses were $330 instead of $50 with my plan. I plan pay my pro rata portion of the cost based upon using an in network provider.