Insurance

To reduce our billing costs, we require payment at the time of service. You may pay by cash, check or credit card.  We also accept Care Credit, an instantly verifiable credit line for medical related expenses.  Our receptionist can assist you in estimating your bill when you call for an appointment.  To help you with your insurance paperwork, we will provide you with a properly itemized and coded bill at the time of service.  This form should be all you need to document your visit. Please keep us informed of any changes in your insurance coverage or if you need additional assistance in completing the required paperwork.

We are associated with a variety of insurance plans and health maintenance organizations. Our staff will happily answer any questions you have regarding these affiliations.

• Please provide a current copy of your insurance card(s) to the front desk. We will NOT be able to honor your insurance if you do not have a current copy of your card(s).
• All co-pays are to be paid at the time of your visit.  If this is an issue, you should speak with the front desk before being seen by the doctor.
• Payment will be expected at the time of the visit if you do not have vision/medical insurance coverage.

If you want/wear contact lenses, please be advised that most insurance companies will not cover contact lens services, including fitting, and you will pay separately for these services. Please refer to our explanation of vision vs. medical insurance for more information.

MEDICAL VS. VISION INSURANCE

We appreciate the opportunity to help you with your vision care.  We understand insurance coverage for such care can be confusing, so we have developed this written explanation of our policies as they relate to Medical insurance and Vision insurance.  

Please read this carefully and address any questions you may have to our receptionist or office manager prior to your appointment.

Your insurance plan(s) are contracts between you and the insurance companies.  You are ultimately responsible for payment to our office for the services we provide whether they are medical, surgical or optical.

Most services we provide at Complete EyeCare West are considered medical.  Ophthalmologists, such as Dr. Hutchison, and optometrists, such as Dr. Cockerill are physicians who specialize in the diagnosis, care and treatment of the vision system.  (As a cardiologist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis, care and treatment of the cardiovascular system).  For example a complete or comprehensive eye exam performed by Drs. Hutchison and Cockerill includes procedures and techniques that allow diagnosis and treatment of systemic medical conditions that are evidenced in or around the eye or vision system.  In addition, this type of exam typically includes (actually requires) evaluation of the optical or focusing system of the eyes (specifically the refractive state of the eye nearsightedness, farsightedness and/or astigmatism).  In this way, some services that are considered optical and separated for insurance purposes, are an integral part of the other services described above.

Your medical insurance company typically recognizes the comprehensive ophthalmology exam as a medical service similar to an exam by any other medical specialist.  We therefore usually find it most appropriate to bill you through your medical insurance primarily or first for the services we provide.

Conversely, Vision Service Plan (VSP) and EyeMed Access plans are the only vision insurance plans our practice contracts with and typically are intended to cover (pay for) a basic optical exam.  These exams differ from the medical comprehensive exam in that it is intended to simply observe for eye disease and again measure the optical or focusing system of the eyes.  Often, the primary intent of this exam is to provide a prescription for eyeglasses.

In order to schedule your visit appropriately, it would be most helpful to know as much as possible about your needs and expectations for the exam with respect to insurance coverage.  Our scheduling specialists can help you determine which exam services are right for you.