Is Lasik Covered by my Health Insurance?
Insurance plans usually don't cover Lasik or corrective eye surgery because it's a voluntary procedure.
Find Cheap Health Insurance in Your Area
The best way to save is to use a Lasik discount that comes with either your health or vision insurance plan. You can also lower your costs by paying with an FSA or HSA.
Cigna health insurance has the best discount on Lasik. You could pay $695 per eye, which is less than half the average cost of $2,250 per eye.
Is Lasik covered by health insurance?
Lasik corrective eye surgery is an elective procedure that is not covered by most health insurance plans.
However, some insurance companies offer discounts on Lasik as a part of their member rewards or deals programs.
Health insurance discounts can save you $715 per eye on Lasik surgery, on average.
Discounts are usually put on your bill right away. This means you don't have to worry about paying up front and getting reimbursed.
The downside is that Lasik discounts through your health insurance are not included in the plan's coverage. That means any costs for Lasik will fall outside of your health insurance plan’s deductibles and copayments.
For example, say you paid a few thousand dollars for Lasik surgery using your health insurance discounts. When you need other medical care during the same policy year, you would still need to pay for some of your health costs out of pocket until that spending reaches your plan's deductible. What you spent on Lasik would not count toward your deductible.
Which insurance companies have the best coverage for Lasik?
Cigna health insurance plans have the best benefits for Lasik, with surgery costs as low as $695 per eye.
Cost of Lasik per eye with a health insurance discount
Find Cheap Health Insurance in Your Area
Keep in mind that your actual prices and insurance discounts will be different based on your plan, the location where you get your surgery and the type of surgery you need.
Many of the top health insurance companies offer Lasik discounts. However, it's more common to have Lasik discounts through your vision insurance plan than through your health insurance.
You may also need to use a certain Lasik chain to get the lowest rates. For example, both the Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) discount programs can only be used at a LasikPlus facility. Cigna offers better rates if you get your surgery with LasikPlus, but it also provides a 15% discount if you use another location in the U.S. Laser Network.
Is Lasik covered by vision insurance?
Lasik surgery is usually not covered by vision insurance, but most plans provide a discount program for corrective eye surgery.
Vision insurance discounts can save you an average of $948 per eye on Lasik surgery.
These discounts are typically considered a perk that's in addition to the plan's standard coverage for eye exams, eyeglasses and contact lenses.
It's usually worth it to get a vision insurance plan if you expect to have Lasik surgery. That's because the amount you save on Lasik surgery is usually more than the plan costs for a year.
You usually can't combine Lasik discounts from both your health insurance and vision insurance plans. If you have both discounts available, work with the surgery provider and the insurance companies to decide how you can get the best deal.
Which vision insurance companies have the best coverage for Lasik?
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) and Davis Vision have the best benefits for Lasik, with discounted rates as low as $1,000 per eye.
Lasik cost per eye with vision insurance discounts
Many vision insurance plans will only give you a discount if you use Lasik providers they're affiliated with. For example, both UnitedHealthcare and Davis Vision partner with QualSight, which is a surgery chain with lower costs. This helps you to get a very cheap price because you're getting a large discount on low rates.
With vision insurance discounts, your actual costs will vary based on your insurance plan, the type of procedure you need and the location where you get the surgery.
If you have insurance through your job, called a group insurance plan, Lasik discounts can differ widely. For example, we have seen Lasik prices as low as $695 per eye with a Humana vision insurance plan for employees at a large college. That's nearly half the price of what you'd pay with a typical Humana vision plan.
Is Lasik covered by an FSA or HSA?
You can use money in an FSA or HSA to pay for Lasik eye surgery.
Even when Lasik is an elective surgery, you can pay for it using funds in an FSA (flexible spending account) or HSA (health savings account).
That's because it's one of the items that are allowed in the IRS medical expense rules.
Tax-advantaged accounts like an FSA or HSA can help your money go further when paying for health expenses.
- These accounts won’t lower your actual medical bills.
- Instead, you won't pay taxes on the money in them, and you use the money to pay for your surgery.
You'll typically save 31% on the cost of Lasik by using an FSA. However, actual savings vary based on your tax rate and the cost of your procedure.
Plus, savings from an FSA or HSA can be on top of any insurance company discounts. By combining the two, you can make your Lasik surgery even more affordable.
How much can you save on Lasik with an FSA?
The amount you save on Lasik with an FSA is tied to your tax rate.
For example, say you contributed $3,200 to an FSA, which is the most you're allowed. If your annual income was $60,000 and you had a tax rate of 22%, you'd save $704 in taxes by using an FSA to pay for Lasik surgery. If you earn more, you'll save more because you're taxed at a higher rate.
Tax savings for putting $3,200 in an FSA to be used for Lasik
Income | Tax savings with an FSA |
|---|---|
| $40,000 | $384 |
| $60,000 | $704 |
| $102,000 | $768 |
Estimates for 2024
Using an FSA saves you money on your taxes. This makes it a very good way to save on health expenses you know are coming.
If someone earning $60,000 didn't use an FSA for Lasik, they would need to earn $3,904 to have the $3,200 for their surgery after paying the $704 in taxes.
The downside of using an FSA or HSA is that it takes planning.
Before you start saving toward getting corrective eye surgery, it's a good idea to first get an initial eye exam to make sure you're eligible for the procedure.
Also, you'll need to time the procedure for when the funds are available in your account. For example, at the beginning of the policy year, are funds distributed to your account in a lump sum, or does it happen on a rolling basis throughout the year? And at the end of the policy year, do funds roll over for you to use the next year, or is it a use-it-or-lose-it account where any unused funds are forfeited at the end of the year?
Frequently asked questions
Why is Lasik not covered by insurance?
Lasik eye surgery is a voluntary procedure. Even though it can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, it's not considered medically necessary. Therefore, it's not usually covered by insurance. However, many health and vision insurance companies offer discounts on Lasik with typical savings of $400 to $1,100 per eye.
What insurance is best for Lasik?
Cigna health insurance and UnitedHealthcare vision insurance give you some of the best Lasik discounts. With these plans, you can pay less than $1,000 per eye for Lasik surgery. However, this is not standard coverage. Insurance helps you save on Lasik by giving you access to discount programs.
How much does Lasik cost with insurance?
Insurance discounts vary, and the cost of Lasik can be as low as $695 per eye with Cigna health insurance, or you could pay more than $2,000 per eye with Aetna vision insurance.
Is Lasik worth it?
Financially speaking, many people break even on the cost of Lasik within 10 years. Lasik costs about $4,500 for two eyes, which is about what you'd pay for 10 years of both eyeglasses and contact lenses. That's based on spending $300 per year on contacts and $150 per year on eyeglasses. If you use an insurance discount program to reduce your Lasik surgery costs, you can break even in less than five years.
Sources and methodology
Cost data is based on advertised rates from insurance companies and Lasik providers. When costs varied by procedure, we used the most affordable procedure, which is usually traditional Lasik without lifetime enhancements. When discounts were provided but not rates, we used a standardized cost of $2,395 per eye in our calculations. Average FSA savings are also based on this standardized Lasik cost. The amount for FSA savings is from Bank of America, using tax brackets from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
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