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| Charles Bittel III,O.D.,Inc. Consumer Insurance Plans |
January 2016 |
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Happy New Year! We hope you all were able to spend some quality down time with your family and friends and that your new year is off to a great start. The inspiration for the first newsletter of 2016 actually comes from a commercial I have been seeing a lot of since we rang in the new year. VSP, our largest vision insurance company, seems to be aggressively persuing individuals that do not get or do not want vision insurance through their employers. The commercial I am referring to is for VSPDirect.com.
Unfortunately, there have been some vision insurance changes over the last few years that have affected our practice and our patients. We have elected to drop certain plans that have not met our standards of customer service and quality products. And sometimes large corporations will switch their employees over to plans we are not contracted with. Either way, not accepting certain plans is not a decision we take lightly. But we'd love to be able to see as many of our long-standing, loyal patients as possible.
We've had a great working relationship with VSP as both an insurance company and a lab for many years, so I decided to explore VSPDirect.com to figure out whether or not their plans are worth signing up for. Below I calculated the costs for a hypothetical family of 4 and a hypothetical retired couple to compare cash prices vs. expected costs associated with a plan from VSPDirect.com. Again, these are completely hypothetical examples, but ultimately they show that signing up for an individual, couple, or family plan through VSP is at least worth looking into if you don't already have a vision insurance plan.
We wish you all a happy, healthy, and fulfilling 2016. Happy reading!
Sincerely,
Dr. Charlie Bittel (Junior)
Dr. Chuck Bittel (Senior)
Dr. Joo Chi
and Staff
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VSP Direct
I have come up with 2 examples that resemble what we see in our office on a routine basis. The first example is a family of 4 in which the father wears computer glasses, the mother and one of the children wear contact lenses, and one child needs no optical correction. The second example is a retired couple that no longer has vision insurance, in which the husband wears Progressive glasses and the wife wears contact lenses. (In general, the more individuals on a plan that purchase glasses on a yearly basis, the more that family will save by having a vision insurance plan. So I have played it conservatively in both of my examples by having only 1 person in each example purchase glasses.) The cost of plan figures come directly from the VSP Direct website for the area code 92886. I chose the Standard Plan for this example. For those with VSP that are reading this, the Standard Plan appears to most closely resemble, and may be exactly the same, as the VSP Choice Plan provided by certain employers. I found the potential savings in both examples interesting, but of course the costs and savings in real life will encompass a broad range of values.
*Disclaimer: All prices in the example below, both Cash and VSP, are subject to change. These are hypothetical examples that show potential savings by subscribing to a VSP plan through VSPDirect.com. Not every person, couple, or family that enrolls with VSP will save this much money. If you enroll in a VSP plan and do not use the plan, you may even lose money. We strongly encourage you to thoroughly research all available insurance options before enrolling in any vision program. If you currently have vision insurance through an employer, we encourage you to speak to your HR representative or insurance broker before making any changes. Charles Bittel III, O.D., Inc. is not associated in any way with VSP Direct enrollment. We are simply a provider on VSP's provider panel.
Family of 4
CASH
VSP
Exam Fees: $139x4=556 15x4=60
Glasses (Father):
Frame: 179 23.20
Lenses: 69 25 (copay)
Polycarb: 59 35
Antiglare: 129 85
Total: 436 168.20
Contacts (Mother):
Year supply: 220 70
CL Fees: 30 25.50
Total: 250 95.50
Contacts (Child):
Year supply: 220 70
CL Fees: 30 25.50
Total: 250 95.50
Potential saving for family of 4 after cost of plan:
Exams: 556-60= 496
Glasses: 436-168.20= 267.80
Contacts: 500-191= 309
Total Savings before cost of plan: 1072.80
Total after cost of plan:
1072.80-529.92(cost of plan)= $543.51
Retired couple:
CASH
VSP
Exam fees: $139x2=278 15x2=30
Glasses (Husband): 25 (copay)
Frame: 199 39.20
Lenses (Progressives):
349 150
Polycarb: 59 35
Antiglare: 129 85
Total: 736 334.20
Contacts (Wife):
Year Supply: 220 70
CL Fees: 30 25.50
Total: 250 95.50
Potential savings for couple after cost of plan:
Exams: 278-30= 248
Glasses: 736-334.20= 401.80
Contacts: 250-95.50= 154.50
Total savings before plan cost: 804.30
Total after cost of plan:
804.30-387.96(cost of plan)=$416.34
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About Us
Dr. Chuck Bittel (Senior) has been practicing in Yorba Linda for over 30 years. His son, Dr. Charlie Bittel III (Junior) has been practicing in Yorba Linda for the last 9 years and took over the practice in December 2012. The business has continued to grow through referrals of family and friends so we are always honored to see your loved ones and feel free to give us a Yelp if you see fit! We are also the first business in all of California to register with the new referral app GWIG (Go Where I Go)!
Learn more about Dr. Bittel Senior and Junior and about their practice on their website and Facebook page.
For appointments call 714-779-8521 or email:
[email protected]
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Kids Ray-Ban Sale!!!
We've stocked up a wide variety of Ray-Ban frames for kids. So if your little one needs a back-up pair or just a cool pair of glasses to kick off 2016, come on in!
Save 30% off a complete pair of prescription Kid's Ray-Bans. Or save 30% off a kids Ray-Ban frame and even more on lenses with our Crizal Kids Package (available only on frames with an eye size of 49 or less). Call for details...
Sale through 1/31/16. Cannot be combined with other offers or with vision insurance discounts.
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| Charles Bittel, O.D., Inc.
20399 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, California 92886 714-779-8521 drbittel.com |
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