Important insurance terms you should know:

1.  Deductible - This is a fixed dollar amount you pay each coverage period (usually annually) before your health insurance policy begins paying its share.

2.  Copayment - a fixed dollar amount you pay for each office visit, generally $20 to $30 dollars.  Your copay may not apply to other services such as optical goods and purchases and diagnostic procedures.

3.  Coinsurance - a percentage of the allowed amount you pay for office services.  Coinsurance applies even after your deductible has been met.

4.  Network vs. Out-of-Network providers - there may be a different benefit level for in vs. out of network providers.  If you use a provider out of your network, you may pay more for your health care visit.

5.  Charged amount/Allowed Amount - A healthcare provider charges their usual and customary fee for a service, and this may be more than your insurance wishes to pay.  Often, in network providers will accept insurance payment as payment in full while out-of-network providers may demand payment in full for services rendered.

Participating Health Care Plans

We participate in numerous insurance plans and will directly bill your insurance under these plans. In this circumstance, you are responsible only for applicable co-payments at the time of your visit. If you have not met your deductible, you may pay at the time of your visit or we will bill you after we receive a response from your insurance company. Services not covered by your insurance are your financial responsibility at the time of service.

Please check your insurance handbook or check with your insurance company before scheduling an appointment to be sure we are participating/preferred providers.

Some plans require you to obtain authorization for services from your primary care provider (internist, family practitioner, pediatrician, etc.). It is your responsibility to obtain this authorization form from your primary care provider. This is required by your insurance before you visit our office. Failure to obtain a valid referral form will result in the patient being financially responsible for any charges incurred.

We accept nearly 100 different insurances carriers.  An abbreviated list of some of the major carriers we currently accept are:  Aetna, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, EyeMed, Medicare, Medicaid, VSP, Altius, Primary Health, IPN, AARP, Cigna, Benesight, Tricare, Humana, Pacific Source, Superior Vision, Secure Horizons and Care Credit. If you don't see your carrier listed here, we probably accept it, so please call our office to confirm.

EyeMed:

McNeel Eye Center is now an EyeMed provider!  If you work at HP or anywhere that has recently changed vision carriers to EyeMed, let us know so that we can schedule your next eye health examination.

Non Participating Health Care Plans

These are managed care plans where we are not participating providers. We will file a claim to your insurance company on your behalf, or we will give you all of the necessary paperwork for you to submit yourself (depending on your particular plan), but your balance must be paid in full at the time of service. When your claim is processed, reimbursement will be sent directly to you.

We realize that you may have an insurance that we accepted previously but have now become non-participating. We apologize for any inconveniences you may experience due to this, but thank you for your cooperation.

Because of this we’d like to share our view of manage care with you. Many of our patients that have experienced, “I’d like to come to your office, but you ‘re not on my insurance plan….and my insurance company won’t let me.”

Unfortunately, we have heard this enough as managed care health insurance continues to change not only eye care but the whole medical care system. While we have chose to participate on many insurance plans, we have also chose not to participate on many others.

We continually assess and upgrade the equipment and technology that we feel best supports the care of our patients. Our staff is highly and consistently trained to provide up to date eye health care. We have always taken pride in providing the highest quality of services and products we provide to our patients.

As a result, our patients have allowed us to expand our services to three locations. We have worked very hard over the years to achieve this level of patient service and are proud of our accomplishments. As a result, we are extremely selective when deciding which insurance panels or managed care plans we will participate in. We will continue to decline those plans that do not allow us to practice professional and complete eye health care. Our patients have come to expect a lot from us and deserve the professional obligation for us to deliver.

We will never let an insurance company tell us how to examine your eyes. We strongly recommend that you investigate and analyze any such plans, and the doctors on them, with an eye on the details.

Lastly, even if we are not participants on your plan’s list of doctors or offices, you may still use our services and products. While you may incur some out of pocket expense, you can not be forced by your insurance company to select another eye care provider. The choice is yours.

Remember, you can see us anytime, for any reason, regardless of your insurance plan.