# Average cost of an eye exam.



## Felicity

I have insurance, but did not elect vision coverage.

My doctor is going to be starting me on a medicine
that requires an eye test beforehand.

I called today and the price without insurance is
$89.00. That sure seems high to me! 

What do you pay for your eye exams? Just needing
to know if this is the average cost these days or the 
quote is way above average.

Thanks!


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## mamita

that's about what I paid for a routine eye exam. I was shocked, too, as a couple years prior I had paid somewhere around $40.


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## New Mexican

We just paid $35 in El Paso, TX. It was at a Costco eye place...the office is adjacent to the store. GREAT service!


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## freeb

$50 here


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## Belfrybat

It depends on the exam. Walmart offers an eye exam for $39.00, but that just tests your vision to see if you need glasses. If you want a good exam where they dialate and look inside your eyes, then $80-120 is the norm. I pay $95.00 and get a very thorough exam for that price.


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## Irish Pixie

My DH has an app't tomorrow and it's $44, we have insurance but it's between times that they will pay.


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## suzyhomemaker09

There's a chain of places that has a location near me....

http://www.twopair.com/

For $69.95 you get an exam and 2 pair of glasses...this does not include specialty lenses ( tint...progressives..bifocals etc. )


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## CarolT

My daughter went to America's Best (twopair.com). After the exam, they told her it would be $280 at the cheapest!!! She's a student and had $200 to make it to the end of March. She had to pay about $85 for just the exam and didn't get any glasses 

We had used them before a couple of years ago and knew they never actually came through on the $69.95, but that was a major rip-off! And they really got mad about giving her the prescription and would not write down her pupillary distance.


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## jamala

$280 here for a new patient at the clinic we use for my son for an opthomologist. The local place for just an optomotrist is around $125.


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## Pink_Carnation

When I got my eyes checked at Costco with dilation and a glaucoma check it was $60...they would not bill insurance you had to get that done yourself.


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## salmonslayer

That is very reasonable. Last time I had mine checked and got glasss it was almost $800....


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## Joshie

Sounds cheap to me. Why don't you call Walmart or Sams? I know that I pay a whole lot more than but. You really should have your eyes checked regularly.


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## Felicity

Well, I guess it does seem then more like an
average price for an opthomologist. I was
really surprised though when she said $89.00,
as I was figuring it would be $45 to $50.

I am not getting glasses. I am going to be
starting the medication Plaquenil and need
to have a starting base to compare to while
I am on the medication. I think you get your
eyes checked every 6 months.

This doctor also diagnoses and treats eye
diseases. 

Thanks for your replies! I feel a bit better
about it now knowing that some of you pay
around the same amount.


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## HoofPick

Do you have any America's Best in your area? Last summer I got glasses/contacts for the first time and they were pretty cheap. You get your eye exam, and up to 2 pairs of glasses for just under $70. If you join their eye care club you get a free exam per year with a 3 or 5 year plan. This is what I paid and I don't have insurance.


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## suzyhomemaker09

CarolT said:


> My daughter went to America's Best (twopair.com). After the exam, they told her it would be $280 at the cheapest!!! She's a student and had $200 to make it to the end of March. She had to pay about $85 for just the exam and didn't get any glasses
> 
> We had used them before a couple of years ago and knew they never actually came through on the $69.95, but that was a major rip-off! And they really got mad about giving her the prescription and would not write down her pupillary distance.



It would seem that your daughters prescription was for something more than a single vision lens....On the paper copy of mine they did not write a pupilary distance either but that was quickly remedied by a phone call...
Sorry your family had a bad experience with them...DH went and was told he needed bifocals...his were expensive as well. I just ordered 2 pair of single vision glasses for him from Zenni Optical and am very pleased with them.


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## Chixarecute

That sounds reasonable for an opthamologist (specializes in eye health.) An optometrist exam is going to be cheaper.


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## luv2farm

I had the very same test ran last week for the very same reason! My regular exam was 90$, and the ADDITIONAL test for the Plaquenil was $60.



Felicity said:


> Well, I guess it does seem then more like an
> average price for an opthomologist. I was
> really surprised though when she said $89.00,
> as I was figuring it would be $45 to $50.
> 
> I am not getting glasses. I am going to be
> starting the medication Plaquenil and need
> to have a starting base to compare to while
> I am on the medication. I think you get your
> eyes checked every 6 months.
> 
> This doctor also diagnoses and treats eye
> diseases.
> 
> Thanks for your replies! I feel a bit better
> about it now knowing that some of you pay
> around the same amount.


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## Rainy

Yes that sounds about right.. our's are $90 each. very hard to give that up sometimes, and that doesn't include frame and new lens if needed


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## Gregg Alexander

My wife works for a Eye Dr and she said they charge $69 for a basic test, special test adds more to the price up to $100 with out copay. If you have insurance then test re less.


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## mnn2501

We have insurance so its only $10, however the Ophthalmologist charges $159 for a full exam. Being DW and I are both diabetic we need the full exam, not just the cheapo one you can get anywhere.


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## TenBusyBees

Just did a round of eye exams for everyone. No eye insurance. $75 per person except me. I wear contacts so it was more. I'm thinking it was $165.


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## Harry Chickpea

"I am going to be
starting the medication Plaquenil and need
to have a starting base to compare to while
I am on the medication."

??? DW takes plaquenil and there was no mention of any such requirement.


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## oregon woodsmok

The exam to see if I needed glasses, plus prescription was about $45. However, a serious eye exam to really check the state of my vision was over $600 and took a couple of hours and involved a lot of expensive looking equipment.

So it depends upon what your doctor means by an "eye exam"


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## chickenmommy

Just went to Sears Optical for eye exam for contacts about a month ago. I have insurance and still had to pay $75. It took almost two weeks to get my trial pair and they were wrong. I am at the tail end of the waiting stage for the replacement. At this rate it will be almost two months before I am in possession of actual boxes of contacts. Before I had insurance I went to Wal-Mart vision center. My exam for contacts with the pressure test and dilation was $41. I left with a trial pair. I called the next day and ordered contacts and went to pick them up two days later. If next enrollment period wasn't after my employer starts paying 100% of my medical, I would cancel it. 
Sorry for the tangent


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## Irish Pixie

Harry Chickpea said:


> "I am going to be
> starting the medication Plaquenil and need
> to have a starting base to compare to while
> I am on the medication."
> 
> ??? DW takes plaquenil and there was no mention of any such requirement.


Anyone taking Plaquenil has to have eye exams every 6 months, the drug can cause permanent damage and has be caught early to avoid serious damage. I was on it for years when an opthamologist caught the very beginning of a problem and I've been off it since. 

Felicity, your major medical insurance may pay for the opthamologist because it's for a medical condition. It's worth a try, mine did.


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## CarolT

Nope, single vision. We know hers is a stronger lens than their cheapest ones, because we've been in before. As a matter of fact, her vision has actually improved, which is why she's getting headaches from the stronger glasses, so wasn't expecting the huge difference. And we know they don't usually write down the PD, but the girl got really rude when she asked for the PD and actually only gave her one of the two  and absolutely refused to write it down for her.



suzyhomemaker09 said:


> It would seem that your daughters prescription was for something more than a single vision lens....On the paper copy of mine they did not write a pupilary distance either but that was quickly remedied by a phone call...
> Sorry your family had a bad experience with them...DH went and was told he needed bifocals...his were expensive as well. I just ordered 2 pair of single vision glasses for him from Zenni Optical and am very pleased with them.


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## Felicity

Irish Pixie said:


> Anyone taking Plaquenil has to have eye exams every 6 months, the drug can cause permanent damage and has be caught early to avoid serious damage. I was on it for years when an opthamologist caught the very beginning of a problem and I've been off it since.
> 
> Felicity, your major medical insurance may pay for the opthamologist because it's for a medical condition. It's worth a try, mine did.


Thank you SO MUCH for the tip about insurance maybe paying
as it is for a medical condition!!!! I haven't made the appointment
yet, so I will call my insurance company this morning and ask
about that.


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## SunsetSonata

What Irish Pixie said. When you schedule your exam, tell them that you are NOT scheduling for a routine exam, but for a plaquenil office visit. Medical insurance still covers medical conditions, just not routine vision like getting a new prescription.


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## Larburlingame

I have diebetes and have my eyes checked once a year. Since it is a medical problem and not a vision problem, I hve to go to an eye doctor with a medical degree and then it is covered under my reqular health insurance.


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## City Bound

The dr needs to make some money. They have overhead and insurance to pay for, and then after all that they have to make enough money to live. I think relative to the low frequency that we need an eye exam (like every other year) that $80 is a decent price. It is sort of like buying a matress, I think they could sell a good matress for $100 and still tripple their profits, but since people only buy a matress every five or ten years, the price has to reflect the low return rate of the consumer, so matress stores can stay in business.


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## suzyhomemaker09

CarolT said:


> Nope, single vision. We know hers is a stronger lens than their cheapest ones, because we've been in before. As a matter of fact, her vision has actually improved, which is why she's getting headaches from the stronger glasses, so wasn't expecting the huge difference. And we know they don't usually write down the PD, but the girl got really rude when she asked for the PD and actually only gave her one of the two  and absolutely refused to write it down for her.



I'd be calling the corporate office to complain.
They are legally obligated if I'm not mistaken to provide you with a full copy of your prescription.


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