"As for VSP, I'm staunchly against their hold on the industry. I've personally watched some of the media they propagate into the optometric community, specifically to OD students on college campuses. It's quite brilliant, but it's dangerous. VSP was started by a group of OD's with the goal of creating a guaranteed method for their "brethren" to be paid for their services and to make it easier for patients to afford you [and obtain needed vision services]. Since their merging with Eyefinity, however, they have become just like every other major corporation....more interested in their bottom line than in serving their clientele. I believe that a government payer should NEVER pay more than a private one . This propagates in-equality in the marketplace and it is the exact opposite of the capitalistic society were intended to operate as.
SIDE NOTE: you can actually make ALOT of money on VSP if you have your own edger as they will pay you as a lab. Suddenly, it is only costing you a few dollars to produce glasses in house rather than pay VSP's exorbitant lab fees. One of my clients makes roughly 800%-1000% on each pair of glasses he produces for a VSP patient and he is usually FASTER than lens crafters and pearl vision when it comes to serving his patients' needs. Something to think about. I hope it begins to catch on among the doctors in AOA, it's the only way to fight VSP in this current climate. "
Just as an example of VT Medicaid vs. VSP: VT medicaid pays about $130 for a comprehensive eye exam and refraction. This is offered YEARLY to Juvenile patients and bi-annually to adults. An OD can perform multiple refraction on a patient after the eye exam and get paid for them. VSP caps its Eye Exam reimbursement at about $75. Not every patient qualifies for a refraction and there is no such thing as going to the doctor between covered exams for a followup refraction. In fact, you have to really fight to even be in the $75 reimbursement teer, something our office negotiated with VSP for 3 years before it finally came to fruition. A covered VSP refraction will usually not net you more than $25 (not including patient-out-of-pocet) and VSP includes out-of-pocket fees in their reimbursement rate, medicaid patients don't pay a dime out of pocket for eye exams.
This is a huge problem. I believe that VSP is the country's largest private vision insurance in the country. Serving the majority of employer groups nationwide as well as being part of government networks, providing out-sourced vision benefits to medicaid patients in California and other states as well (this was something the VT optometric Assc fought against and won). Yet they are one of the worst reimbursing insurances for vision services; BCBS, by comparison, has an excellent vision reimbursement AND THEY ARE NOT FOR PROFIT, UNLIKE VSP!!!!
