Indemnity Plans
It's a fact that even 20/20 uncorrected vision is not always healthy. You might have hyeropia, myopia, or undetected eye problems. It's no wonder that your employer now includes LASIK financing as a perk for your hard work.
You've heard of flexible spending accounts or FSAs, which withhold part of your paycheck if you're a LASIK candidate with healthy eyes, but you may want to investigate other employer-sponsored LASIK surgery financing.
Ask about the Indemnity Plan, in which you may have to pay a small copayment and your employer will pay the LASIK surgeon a portion of the cost.
LASIK doctors caution against signing up for a Discounted Fee For Service Plan, in which your employer or your insurance company may request that you pay just 50 percent of your LASIK procedure. The danger of paying for LASIK surgery this way is that your LASIK surgeon may be required to cut costs, so that you receive a reduced standard of care. You may be better off if you save your money and pay for LASIK surgery through a monthly installment plan or extended payment plan, which many surgeons offer.
LASIK: Tax-Deductible?
Finally, good news from the IRS: if paying for LASIK surgery means a tighter checkbook afterwards, Uncle Sam might offer some relief.
With your renewed eyesight, thanks to your LASIK surgery, you'll be able to see the fine print on your tax forms more clearly.
In 2003, the IRS ruled that LASIK is a tax-deductible medical expense. This is yet another tax break for you if you're weighing LASIK financing options. Even if your employer offers tax-free flexible spending accounts, you can pay for LASIK surgery on your own and reap the benefits when tax time rolls around.
There's a catch: To be eligible for a tax deduction, your health care expenses need to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. If your health care expenses aren't that steep, you might consider your flexible spending account offered through your employer, which is tax-free and you can reduce your state income tax payments as well. Ask your accountant or tax attorney whether you qualify for a LASIK surgery deduction.
LASIK and Employer Health Insurance
You hear about new employer-sponsored health plans that can relieve part of the problem of LASIK financing. Too good to be true?
While many employers today are struggling with employee benefits and the spiraling costs of health insurance, some employers offer flexible spending accounts or FSAs that you can use to offset the burden of paying for LASIK surgery. Your company will determine if you qualify, and if you do, will withhold pre-tax dollars through payroll deduction to cover your LASIK procedure.
LASIK eye surgery centers are now working with employers to provide LASIK financing as a health insurance benefit. Ask your company's human resource program if you quality for LASIK financing.
Cheaper LASIK Surgery May Be More Expensive
We are all determined to get the best deal. You don't always need a new sweater, but it's "on sale."
When it comes to our vision, things are different. You vow that, even if your insurance company doesn't cover laser eye surgery, you'll beg, borrow or steal to pay for LASIK surgery because you're tired of having poor vision and wearing glasses.
Then your LASIK surgeon quotes you the cost per eye for LASIK. People paying for LASIK surgery in the first quarter of 2005 coughed up $1,600-$2,000 per eye for LASIK, and $2000-$2500 for custom LASIK, according to the MarketScope Refractive Quarterly Update. These costs typically include:
* equipment--including hospital gowns, gloves and safety equipment
* microkeratome and femtosecond lasers
* eye royalty fee (paid to the laser manufacturer)
* overhead for the surgery center
* hospital fees
* Wavefront mapping
* pre-op evaluation meeting
* comprehensive eye examination, including the curvature of your cornea, the thickness of your cornea (a pachymetry test), and a test to see that you are free from irregular astigmatism or keratoconus
* follow-up office visits and tests
* enhancements performed within at least the first 12 months after surgery
* standard medications
You're panicking over LASIK surgery financing, thinking your down payment on your first car didn't cost that much. Then you see an ad in a magazine: "LASIK Surgery for $300 Per Eye!"
You do get what you pay for--these are your eyes we're talking about. LASIK Vision Institute allegedly misrepresented its costs, quoting a price $299, and Florida's Attorney General took it to task. Not all LASIK providers will tell you the hidden costs, or warn that your eyes may need more correction than the bargain price quoted when you pay for LASIK surgery initially.
Many reputable doctors offer LASIK surgery financing to help you make this investment in yourself and your future. You'll know that you're read to pay for LASIK surgery when you try to read your credt card statement and your glasses get in the way.
LASIK Interest-Free Loans
One of your laser eye surgery options is an interest-free loan option for financing LASIK surgery.
According to the patient finance institution Vision Fee Plan, almost half the people considering laser eye surgery say affordability is the big obstacle to having LASIK. You most likely fall into that category. You may find an interest-free loan from a patient financing provider or bank an attractive LASIK surgery financing option. Many surgeons work with CapitalOne and CareCredit, which offer no-interest loans for up to twelve months, with no prepayment penalty.
Your surgeon may also offer a six-month deferred LASIK surgery financing plan, which features no interest and no loan payments for the first six months--a perfect time to put in that overtime at work. College students just entering the workplace may especially find this valuable. You're young, healthy and active, and you've decided that LASIK is worth the cost.
If you don't qualify for an interest-free loan, know that 9.9% to 14.9% is usually an acceptable rate--the actual rate is dependent on your credit history and the length of the loan.
Ask for literature detailing all the costs of any LASIK financing plan, and be sure that there are no hidden processing fees on interest-free loans.
LASIK Credit Rating
Many patients will use their plastic to pay for LASIK surgery, but according to OPHTHALMOLOGY MANAGEMENT, 25 percent of patients choose LASIK financing offered by surgeons. If you're in that range, you may worry that your lack of creditworthiness will mean being saddled with the ever-increasing costs of having glasses, not to mention the inconvenience.
It's true that banks prefer a debt-to-income ratio of 20 to 35 percent. Any surgeon who assures you of getting LASIK surgery financing regardless of your ability to pay or credit score may not know all the facts. Your surgeon is concerned with your eyes, of course, but does not want to chance taking on credit problems.
If, however, you now have a stable job history and your debt-to-income ratio is within the range of what banks consider acceptable, you're more likely to be approved for LASIK financing by your surgeon. You can probably get a quick response to your loan application while you're still in the surgeon's office, since many surgeons prefer to use LASIK financing plans with simple credit applications and fast decisions.
Get your credit report online from one of the major companies: Experian, Equifax, or Transunion. Once you're armed with information, you can walk into your surgeon's office with confidence.
Insurance and LASIK Revisited
The conventional wisdom is that you can never get LASIK financing through your insurance company. However, times are changing.
Insurance companies such as Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield may pay for LASIK surgery at a discounted rate. Currently, it costs $895 for LASIK and $1,295 for custom LASIK, as quoted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Southern Carolina in partnership with TruVision. However, your PPO plan's negotiated rate may be actually higher than the current market value for the service, so investigate the real costs of paying for LASIK surgery with your insurance company.
Make sure that your insurance coverage of LASIK includes:
* Vision exam
* Pre-operative care
* Corrective surgery
* Post-operative care for one year
Ask whether additional corrective surgery or enhancements are covered in your LASIK surgery financing. Some insurance providers will pay for LASIK-related complications such as dry eyes.
LASIK Financing and Credit Unions
You've used your consumer credit union or employer credit union for years. They know your history, they know your credit rating, they know you. Should you go to them for LASIK financing?
LASIK surgery centers and surgeons have discovered the value of employer or consumer credit unions as a source for patient LASIK financing, especially if a majority of a company's employees choose a particular surgery center. Ask your credit union about LASIK financing.
When you're comparing LASIK financing options, it doesn't hurt to have more than one source of financing available.