Payment Options

Payment Options at Our Developmental Optometrist in Jasper & Evansville

At Vision Development Center, our goal is to allow all families to benefit from our services independent of their financial situation. We work with various local agencies to meet the specific needs of our patients. Our families are well informed of the value associated with our services from the very first phone call.  

Medical Insurance

Contact our insurance liaison at Vision Development Center for assistance in determining your medical insurance coverage for our services.  As a courtesy, we will file claims for the initial evaluation and if indicated the first vision therapy visit only. We are experienced in providing you with the documentation necessary for you to submit to your medical insurance provider for any further treatment. We do not have a contract with your insurance company, only you do. We are not responsible for how your insurance company handles its claims or for what benefits they pay on a claim. We can only assist you in estimating your portion of the cost of treatment. We at no time guarantee what your insurance will or will not do with each claim. We also can not be responsible for any errors in filing your insurance. Once again, we file claims as a courtesy to you. We will answer any questions you may have regarding any documentation we have provided. Many current insurance plans are designed to cover most of the basic vision-related costs, but not all costs associated with vision care. For more information on medical insurance determination and coverage, please review our guide.

Fact 1 - NO INSURANCE PAYS 100% OF ALL PRODEDURES
Medical insurance is meant to be an aid in receiving medical care. Many patients think that their insurance pays 90 of all medical fees. This is not true! Most plans only pay between 50 of the average total fee. Some pay more, some pay less. The percentage paid is usually determined by how much you or your employer has paid for coverage, or the type of contract your employer has set up with the insurance company.

Fact 2 - BENEFITS ARE NOT DETERMINED BY OUR OFFICE
You may have noticed that sometimes your medical insurer reimburses you or the doctor at a lower rate than the doctor's actual fee. Frequently, insurance companies state that the reimbursement was reduced because your doctor's fee has exceeded the usual, customary, or reasonable fee (“UCR”) used by the company.

A statement such as this gives the impression that any fee greater than the amount paid by the insurance company is unreasonable, or well above what most doctors in the area charge for a certain service. This can be very misleading and simply is not accurate.

Insurance companies set their own schedules, and each company uses a different set of fees they consider allowable. These allowable fees may vary widely, because each company collects fee information from claims it processes. The insurance company then takes this data and arbitrarily chooses a level they call the “allowable” UCR Fee. Frequently, this data can be three to five years old and these “allowable” fees are set by the insurance company so they can make a net 20 profit.

Unfortunately, insurance companies imply that your doctor is “overcharging”, rather than say that they are “underpaying”, or that their benefits are low. In general, the less expensive insurance policy will use a lower usual, customary, or reasonable (UCR) figure.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, please keep us informed of any insurance changes such as policy name, insurance company address, or a change of employment.

It has been our experience that providers of medical insurance vary widely on the procedure of filing claims for vision therapy services as well as the documentation that is required for each claim.  The international association of developmental optometry known as the College of Optometrists in Vision Development have on record less than 1,500 affiliates practicing this specialty worldwide.  Due to the small number of providers offering this service, the protocol for claim submission is not consistent within the insurance industry.  

Contact our office at 812-482-1411 to determine the level of coverage available according to your policy.  

Other Payment Options

Dr. Bauernfiend and the Vision Development Center staff understand that the commitment of both finances and time toward our services is an important choice for your family.  We do not want this to be an obstacle to the opportunity for the life changing benefits of treatment.  Please call our office at 812-482-1411 to discuss the various options in greater detail.  We accept various forms of payment such as Health Savings Accounts as well as cash, check, and major credit cards. 

Locations

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Office Hours

Our Regular Schedule

Vision Development Center

Monday:

7:00 am-6:00 pm

Tuesday:

7:00 am-6:00 pm

Wednesday:

7:00 am-6:00 pm

Thursday:

7:00 am-6:00 pm

Friday:

Closed

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed

Testimonial

  • "Wonderful office and staff, my son received vision therapy and we were very happy from the beginning to end!!!"
    Kristy B.