LASIK
Financing and Cost
The number of patients receiving LASIK corrective
eye surgery in the past decade has exploded. Thanks to new innovative
techniques and technologies LASIK is now safer and more effective
than ever, and thousands of people who are tired of wearing contacts
and glasses have decided to undergo LASIK procedures. As a result
the LASIK industry is now highly competitive. LASIK institutions,
facilities, and private surgeons are all clamoring for new business;
as a result, LASIK financing options are now available for those
who cannot afford the cost of LASIK surgery upfront. If you are
interested in LASIK procedures, you should be aware of what types
of costs to expect and the risks involved with financing these
procedures.
LASIK costs have steadily risen in recent decades
due to the new technologies and techniques that are making these
procedures so popular. There is hardly ever a flat rate that is
given to patients for LASIK surgeries. Rather there is a range
of average prices that consumers can expect to pay. The difference
in prices has to do with the type of procedure performed, and
the level of myopia or astigmatism being addressed. On average
consumers can expect to pay between $1300 - $2950, per eye, for
LASIK surgery. Traditional LASIK procedures are generally on the
lower end of the pay scale, Flapless procedures such as PRK and
LASEK are in the middle, and LASIK procedures that incorporate
Wavefront custom technology are on the higher end of the scale.
When you are looking at prices for LASIK surgery,
keep in mind that you may not qualify for some types of surgery.
Patients who have thin corneas, or who have severe myopias or
astigmatisms, often do not qualify for standard LASIK procedures.
Additionally, Wavefront custom technology offers custom mapping
of your cornea and is regarded as a more precise eye correction
surgery. Cost is always a concern, but cost should never be a
deciding factor as to which type of surgery you choose.
As LASIK procedures are now a competitive industry,
many facilities, surgeons, and institutions now offer financing
options. While many of these financing options include interest
free payments, or no money down options, read the terms of the
contract carefully. Some financing options do not include fees,
or they do not include such items as pre-op evaluations, post-op
care, medical costs if complications occur, and medications.
Consumers should also approach companies which
advertise extremely low prices for LASIK, such as $299 an eye
or even $99 an eye, with caution. These low prices are not the
actual price of the surgery; they are teaser rates that are given
in order to entice people into a place of business. Once a potential
client walks in, they find that the $299 eye surgery does not
cover those with astigmatism, or does not cover fees, taxes, post-op
visits, pre-op evaluation, and medications. Due to the fact that
astigmatism occurs in some degree in most people, even those without
vision troubles, consumer advocates are now lobbying for an end
to the ridiculous low teaser prices that are often advertised.
In fact, studies have proven that consumers actually end of paying
more for surgery at facilities which entice them in through these
low, low prices.
