Opticals dirty little secret
Sharing this image from an Opticians group on Facebook. Here's the dirty secrete as to one of the reasons glasses cost so much.
EyeMed is own by one of the largest optical companies on the planet, EsslorLuxotiica. They own EyeMed, and the opticals that are in network, such as Target/JC Penny's/Macy's Optical, LensCrafters, Sunglasses hut, and other. They also own Ray-Ban, Tiffany, Coach, Prada, Tom Ford, Armani, etc. And since Luxottica merged with Essilor, they now own lens manufacturing companies such asTransitions, Crizal, and Varilux.
EsslorLuxotiica makes money on the monthly insurance payment, off the copays in the optical, off the sale of the frames, and off the lenses. It's a walled garden where the discounts you think you're getting only amount to a 20-40% discount off of a $600 retail value, that costs the company less than $50 to manufacture, BECAUSE THEY OWN EVERY STEP OFNTHE PROCESS.
Now you all remember Luigi. Me allegedly murdered the CEO of UHC for denying claims. Do you think UHC is the only company to do so? EyeMed denies doctors and opticals reimbursements all...the...time. so it's not just patients who get hit with unexpected bills, it's us, too.
But that's not the the reason for this post. This post is to tell you, the insurance companies are out for themselves. You don't see near as many private eye doctors as you used to, because they can't sustain themselves on $50 reimbursements. You can't pay for exam/lab equipment, staff, product, and rent without increasing your patient volume to an unrealistic and unsustainable amount of people.
Private practices still have to pay at least $150 per eye to buy a set of polycarbonate Varilux lenses with Crizal coatings, the only lenses covered by EyeMed with any reimbursements. They're not allowed to use a lab to get comparable quality for less than $50 an eye, because contractual obligations with their insurance companies.
So doctors move to corporate offices who can afford to take the hit, because they are OWNED by the insurance company. Now private practices end up having to add extra fees and services just to keep the lights on, and they look like the bad guy.
It's not just EyeMed. Davis Vision and VSP are insurance companies that also own chains such as VisionWorks and require practices to buy their product from the insurance company providing services as part of their contacts.
I dont know what the solution is. I've been in those field since 2012, and I've only seen it get harder on the little guy. My goal is to find a way to unfuck this in my sphere. I'm tired of complaining about it and not offering solutions. The last 5 years have taught me one thing, I can only rely on myself.
We must be independent from corporations.
We must be independent from government.
Neither care about you beyond the cash register or votering booth.
It's going to be hard. I'm going to fail. But God damn it, nothing worth having in my life has ever come easy.
Good vibes.
