Table of Contents
Key takeaways:
- Choosing a traditional vision insurance plan is difficult because marketing claims are often misleading.
- Low premiums, a lack of coordination of benefits, and special deals can result in plans that create little value for your employees.
- Prepaid vision plans like VCD are a lot more transparent and don’t rely on questionable claims to sell you products.
Can you really trust what insurance companies are saying?
For employers, picking a vision plan often means navigating complex benefit structures and confusing network restrictions. Teams also have time constraints, forcing them to make these important decisions under pressure.
It leaves you vulnerable to questionable marketing techniques from traditional vision insurers, unless you know what to watch out for. Let’s take a closer look at predatory insurance marketing tactics so you can spot red flags and provide real value to your employees.
Are Low Premiums Worth It?
Your HR team has a budget when shopping for new benefits, and insurers are well aware of this. It’s why they use low premiums to get your attention, but two things can happen:
- The product actually has a low monthly cost, but doesn’t deliver much value due to coverage limitations.
- You’re facing a classic bait-and-switch scenario, and the cost of the product you purchase will not match the initial quote.
Vision plans with low premiums can sound like a good deal, but they come with high deductibles, co-pays, and little to no coverage for some services. For your employees, this means paying more out of pocket and usually feeling disappointed with the benefit.
Coordination of Benefits: Don’t Pay for the Same Thing Twice
Coordination of benefits happens when a person has two different insurance products that cover the same thing. In this situation, one of the plans becomes the primary one and covers most of the costs, with the secondary plan covering the rest.
The order of payment can be complex, and vision insurers take advantage of this by making you pay for coverage your employees will never use.
This usually takes the form of plans that claim to cover eye disease and eye injuries. If an employee needs treatment for these conditions, their health plan will kick in first, while their vision plan becomes the secondary coverage option.
Introducing this type of coverage is a highly unethical practice. It gives the impression that you’re getting more value, but you’re really paying for coverage that will never go into effect.
Industry Consolidation and Special Deals
Consolidation is a growing trend in the vision insurance industry. It means your insurance provider has direct dealings with optometrists (especially chains), the labs that fill employees’ eyewear prescriptions, and even brokers.
Here’s what it means for you:
- The plan you pick is only valid at select optometrists. Getting out-of-network care costs a lot more.
- If an employee needs glasses or contacts, they can only get them from specific labs that have a deal with your insurance provider.
Insurers hide these deals or present them as plans that give customers access to the best optometrists and labs.
These deals are very restrictive since your employees might not live near an in-network optometrist. Lab restrictions are also a major concern because they can mean paying more, dealing with delays, or having optometrists recommend what’s available at the lab rather than what’s best for the patient.
Avoid Predatory Insurance Marketing Tactics With Prepaid Plans
It’s easy to focus on low premiums and overlook the fine print when shopping for benefits. In the long term, falling for these questionable practices means paying for perks that don’t help with employee satisfaction or retention.
There’s a better way with prepaid vision plans. Prepaid plans use a completely different model that relies on savings rather than reimbursements, and plans like VCD have transparency as a core value.
The marketing is here to inform you and help you compare plans rather than trick you. You know exactly how much the plan costs and what kind of savings employees have access to. The structure is easy to navigate, and you won’t have to worry about hidden costs or coverage exemptions buried in the fine print.
Learn more about prepaid vision plans for employees in Oklahoma and how VCD can help you build a better benefits package.
FAQ
How does coordination of benefits work?
Coordination of benefits happens when a patient has two or more insurance products with coverage for the same thing. One plan becomes the primary one and covers most of the treatment, while the other becomes the secondary plan and covers what’s left.
Do low premiums mean you’re getting a good deal on a vision plan?
It can feel that way, but you need to pay close attention to what the plan gives you access to. Traditional vision insurance plans often have low premiums but limited coverage.
What’s the difference between traditional vision insurance plans and prepaid vision plans?
Both help you save on eye health care, but insurance plans reimburse you while prepaid plans give you access to savings. You’ll usually save more with prepaid plans and benefit from a plan that is easy to understand.
