I FINALLY used my vision insurance! And, you know, I feel like I got ridden hard and put away wet..

[Snoutport]

To use my dad's favorite way of saying, "you just got screwed".

My new pair of glasses from kaiser--nothing fancy--cost as much as my last three pairs of glasses AND two years of disposable lenses AND the eye exams for both glasses and contacts that I bought out of pocket. WT heck?! I am trying not to get angry about it but...uhm... seriously?

When the lady told me the price, I thought, "oooooh...that's double what I expected it to be" but then consoled myself with the thought that my insurance would cover a good chunk of it. So I just stood there waiting to hear the final price. And she looked at me, and I looked at her, and she looked at me and I smiled and she said, "Is that alright?"

I just kept smiling and said, "I was waiting to hear how much it was after you applied my insurance." She looked at me like I was a dork.

"That is with your insurance." I couldn't believe it!

Now, granted, before I was going to a cheap-o chain to get my glasses but they were quality glasses--the first pair lasted three years, the pair I'm wearing are almost three years and the sunglasses I got are five years old! So inexpensive but not cheap. How in the heck can Kaiser charge so much considering I am paying them monthly already!?

I am very tired of getting scammed by insurance! Last year our house got broken into, we were going to claim $1800 on our insurance to cover damage the house and to replace some stolen and smashed items--my agent's secretary tells me: "If you claim this they are probably going to cancel your insurance." WHAT? Ten years on the same policy, never a late payment and not a single claim and they are going to cancel me because I got robbed? It wasn't even through an open window or an unlocked door...the guys actually pried the window frame out of the wall. The bulk of the claim was just to get the window fixed.

Every month now we pay car insurance, house insurance, life insurance and now health. I thought it was going to be awesome to have health/vision insurance but...dang. So far I have had no benefit from it. Just the opposite...

[tammywammy]

1. If you get your prescription, try Zennioptical.com

You can get cheap glasses through them. Supposed to be really good. I know I pay out the wazoo for glasses since I need the super high index lenses. Even with Zenni I'm looking at $60 for high index, scratch free and glare resistant.

[Habibi]

4. Second Zenni. You do need to have your "P/D" number

which you can have the doc write on your prescription. And of course, you don't get to try on the specs first. But I got no-line bifocals from them for $50.

The lenses are made "overseas", though, so that might be an issue for you. It was for me, but I was broke, and really needed new glasses.

[Old Codger]

5. Make

That three for Zenni, best deal going.

[Codeine]

13. I did my PD number myself with a metric ruler and a mirror.

Not difficult at all.

[Codeine]

12. This, this, this

Do not buy glasses at retail, ever. The markup is absolutely insane. I got a pair of glasses that Kaiser would have charged me $350 for, AND a pair of sunglasses in the same prescription, for a bit less than $50, with shipping from Hong Kong. And those are the SAME FUCKING PEOPLE KAISER BUY FROM!

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. that's right about the home owners insurance...they cancel after you claim

I guess it's a one time use!

[Old Codger]

6. Happened to me

several years ago, one claim for a stolen rototiller, the next week they canceled me.

[Fuzz]

3. I just went through the same exact thing. Plus they had 2 for 1 deal on

glasses, so I thought about sun glasses, but that's only if you don't use insurance. wtf? With insurance it only took like 200 bucks off the pair of glasses to begin with. We pay more in premiums. But the exam is covered, mostly.

My wife is bugging me to switch to cheaper auto and home insurance. Even though I know we could save a couple hindered dollars a year, I don't want to switch. Because I know as soon as we do, and something happens, we're going to be dropped. I've been with this company for 25 years now and I'm not as afraid of that happening because of that. Getting dropped is not worth 200 bucks a year, imho.

Not to mention life insurance, there is no way I can get that with my health. If it weren't for my wife's health insurance, I'd be shit out of luck.

Insurance companies suck and it sucks that we need to rely on them.

[Snoutport]

7. my car insurance cancelled me after I got rear-ended by a teenager going 75 in a 25 mile an hour zon

zone... so, believe me, those insurance companies don't give a dang about you!

I cancelled my home insurance two months after we were robbed and switched to progressive. $20 a month cheaper. I figure I'd rather get dumped by cheaper insurance than expensive insurance.

[Fuzz]

9. Shit

[truedelphi]

8. Kaiser totally misdiagnosed my spouse, then when they

Corrected his diagnosis 90 days later, they put him on the wrong meds for his condition. And on account of their mis-diagnosis he had gone blind.

They also "lost" records of all pertinent visits, so there was no way to litigate against them for any of this.

I remember complaining to some Kaiser administrator about everything, and her reply was that if I had wanted "real insurance" I should have gone with a different company!

On the bright side, once M.'s cataracts were removed, his vision was better than it had been even in H.S.

[spin]

10. I heard on the news today that insurance companies are going to raise the rate of insurance ...

in Florida to help cover all the expenses of the flooding and the tornadoes in other states.

Sometimes it sucks to live in Florida.

[JanMichael]

11. Go to Costco and it will be cheaper and better w/o insurance.

Seriously. Unless you are a fashion maven they will have a pair that you like. And the cost is unheard of low. Service is great and returns are damned near painless and enjoyable.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. I have BC/BS vision coverage and I don't pay one cent...but Walmart won't take my plan because....

it is provided by my husbands fire fighters union....not that I would have ever used Walmart but I was curious and went in to have the Rx filled and when I mentioned it was Blue Cross Blue Shield fire fighter union benifit plan they refused to fill it.

[FormerDittoHead]

15. I can recommend http://www.eyebuydirect.com

Get your "interpupillary distance" from your last pair of glasses - it never changes.

I recommend http://www.eyebuydirect.com - I'm looking forward to my next eye exam and ordering from THEM.

[REP]

16. Last pair of glasses I got from Kaiser were $120.00 after benefit. Designer frames, high-tech lenses

But I have group coverage. Maybe your group should bargain for a better plan...?