“When I established Modern Eye, I wanted our practice to be apart from that,” Eckhart said.
What she found was a system heavily skewed in favor of large companies and the insurance providers.
“The reality is that insurance reimbursement rates have remained nearly unchanged for two decades despite significant increases in the cost of living and practice expenses,” Eckhart said.
There are two major vision insurers - VSP and EyeMed - who control an estimated 85% of the national vision coverage market, according to the American Optometric Association, including labs, framers and lens manufacturing.
“They control everything,” Eckhart said. “It makes it difficult as a small business owner because they can squeeze us from every direction.”
In August, Eckhart started offering direct membership programs designed by her to patients and small businesses to compete with commercial insurance in both price and benefits, but without the complications or costs associated with large insurance plans.
For a monthly membership fee, patients receive comprehensive eye exams, discounts on frames and lenses, contact lens fittings and other eye-related services.
Eckhart deals strictly in products produced by independent lines allowing Modern Eye to keep costs low.
“Without the restrictions of traditional insurance contracts, we can offer a wider variety of lenses, while passing direct savings to patients,” she said. “It’s a win-win for our patients, our practice and the Dayton community.”
Independent eye doctors are increasingly offering their own tailored vision plans, according to Direct OD, a company that provides in-house tools to independent doctors to run their own plans.
These “boutique” or “private” plans allow for more financial control by the doctor with less reliance on shrinking reimbursements from large vision companies, and a revenue stream that keeps money within the practice and the community, according to the Direct OD. Patients often get lower copays and allowances for exams, glasses and contacts in addition to more personalized service.
Eckhart said within the first three months of offering her membership plans, she was able to hire a part-time employee with the money and savings being generated.
“It keeps the money in the Dayton economy,” Eckhart said.
Eckhart said her memberships have been popular with the self-employed, the self-insured and Medicare recipients, since launching.
She’s started offering business-to-business memberships for $15 or $25 per month that allow employers to either cover the plan cost for their employees or pass the cost onto them at an affordable rate.
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