Office Policies

Payment Policy

Professional fees are not refundable.

There is a $20 returned check fee.

No Show Policy

We understand that there are times when you must miss an appointment due to emergencies or obligations for work or family. However, when you do not call to cancel or reschedule an appointment, you may be preventing another patient from being seen at that time.

A $40 fee will be assessed for missing a scheduled appointment without contacting us to cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours in advance.

PLEASE NOTE: Insurances do not cover no-show fees. Therefore, the patient will be responsible for payment of the fee(s) prior to being seen for their next appointment.

Late Patient Policy

Patients arriving more than 10 minutes late for their scheduled appointment cannot be guaranteed a specific time but every effort will be made for you to be seen. It may be necessary to reschedule if we are fully booked.

Patients arriving more than 20 minutes late may be asked to reschedule for a later time or date.

Contact Lens Policy

***Contact Lenses are regulated medical devices that can only be dispensed by prescription. They must be regarded with the same caution you would use for prescription drugs, which includes prescription expiration dates and follow-up visits with your eye doctor. Your eyes go through gradual changes in size, shape, and physiological requirements (such as oxygen ), which can change the fit and affect the health of the eye.

***Contact lens prescriptions will not be released unless there has been at least 1 follow up exam after the lenses are dispensed, per NJ State Law.

***The standard of care is to perform yearly contact lens exams to assess eye health and appropriate lens fit. The professional fee for these services is between $100 and $140 in addition to the exam fee. Rarely will insurance plans cover contact lens evaluations, contact lens fitting, and contact lenses.

Professional Services include the Eye Examination, Contact Lens Evaluation, Solutions Kit indicated, Instruction and three (3) months Follow-up Care. This fee is non-refundable.

Contact Lenses:

Disposable ( 1-day, 2 weeks, or monthly): There is no charge for the trial lenses used during your evaluation. Disposable Contact Lens supply boxes are exchangeable as long as the boxes are unopened and unmarked. They are not refundable.

Conventional/ Yearly / RGP: The Initial Pair must be paid for when the order is placed and is refundable within thirty (30)days with the return of the Lenses in their original condition.

Prescription Re-checks

Vision is complex and adjustment to a new prescription can vary. Fatigue, focusing spasms, amount of rest and your general health on the day of the exam can all affect the measurements. If you are not adjusting to your new prescription we are happy to have your schedule are-evaluation at no charge within the first 60 days from the date of your initial exam.

A $20 fee will apply for all glasses prescriptions re-checked 60 days after the date of the initial exam. An entirely new exam will be required 90 days after the date of the initial exam.

Insurance

Vision Insurance

Vision insurance is often misunderstood. Some insurance companies’ “customer service” departments overstate benefits which can create confusion when the patient visits the doctor’s office. We would like to avoid this, and we hope that the following will help you better understand how vision coverage works. Vision insurance is actually a vision benefit. It is designed to pay toward ”routine” eye examinations.

A ”routine” eye examination checks for, but finds no medical problems. The refraction (determination of the eye’s prescription) is included, and since there are no medical problems, there is no discussion of problems or follow-up needed. Most vision insurance plans do not pay toward the contact lens portion of the examination but may offer a discount on these services. Vision insurance plans often pay a portion of (or offer a discount on) eyeglasses or contact lenses. Most vision plans to do not cover ANY further medical testing, diagnosis, consultation, or treatment.

Vision insurance covers ONLY routine eye exams for purchasing glasses or fitting, evaluation, and purchasing contact lenses. Vision insurance rarely covers 100% of expenses, and thus you should expect some out-of-pocket costs. There may be co-pays, deductibles, or a percentage of costs that you will pay out-of-pocket as required by your insurance policy. Co-pays are due at the time services are rendered.

Medical Insurance

Medical insurance pays toward eye care visits that are medical in nature. This is the same insurance that you would use when you visit your primary physician. An emergency visit, or one focused on a specific eye problem, would be submitted to medical insurance. Some examples of a medical visit are eye infection, floaters, eyelids styes, dry eyes, glaucoma treatment, loss of vision caused by a medical condition of the eye, etc.

Medical insurance may also pay toward a comprehensive examination if there is a medical reason for it (such as diabetes, cataracts, or any of the previously listed reasons). If there is a medical diagnosis, we are required to submit the examination to the medical, not vision, insurance. Nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and the need for reading glasses are not considered a medical diagnosis.

Medical insurance plans will deny this portion of the examination. If you have both medical and vision insurance plans, our office will coordinate the benefits to minimize your out-of-pocket costs.