Do you take my vision insurance?
Most likely, yes. We are in-network providers for VSP, EyeMed, Davis Vision, Superior Vision, Spectera, Avesis, MetLife Vision, and several smaller vision insurance plans, at both of our Titusville offices. On the medical side we work with Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Tricare, and Health First, among others.
Plan networks change during the year, so the honest answer is always the same: call us at (321) 269-2021 with the name on your card and we will confirm your in-network benefits before you book. The full list is on our insurance page, and if your plan is not on it, ask anyway. We can usually tell you in one call, and your coverage works the same at either location.
Which vision benefits do our Titusville patients use most?
Between October 2025 and September 2026, more than half of the patients we examined used EyeMed or VSP, and about two thirds were on a vision plan of some kind. Medicare came next, then Davis Vision and Spectera. Roughly one patient in fourteen paid for the visit without a plan at all.
That order matters if you are shopping for a plan through work or on your own. The two plans nearly every eye doctor in Titusville participates in are the two our neighbors carry most. Members of both can search the plan's provider locator on its website or sign in to their member account, and our practice comes up at both locations. If it is quicker, skip the search and call us; we will tell you whether we are in network on your plan and what your benefits look like.
| Plan | How common | What it usually pays for |
|---|---|---|
| EyeMed | The most common, close to three in ten | A yearly eye exam, an allowance toward frames or contact lenses, lens options at a set price |
| VSP | A close second, about one in four | A yearly eye exam, a frame allowance, lens enhancements at a copay, a contact lens allowance instead |
| Medicare | About one in eight, plus Medicare Advantage | Medical eye visits such as a diabetic eye exam or glaucoma care, not the routine exam for glasses |
| Davis Vision and Spectera | Together about one in eight | A routine exam and a materials allowance, with the details set by the employer plan |
| Superior Vision, Tricare, and other plans | A few in every hundred | A routine exam and, on most, an allowance toward glasses or contacts |
| No vision plan | About one in fourteen | Self-pay, with the price quoted before the visit |
Whatever the plan, the exam is the same exam. Every comprehensive eye exam at Aker Eye includes the retinal imaging and the pressure check, and the doctor who sees you explains what they found before you leave the chair.
What does vision insurance cover, and what does it not?
A vision plan such as VSP or an EyeMed plan is built around three things: a routine eye exam once a year or once every two years, an allowance toward frames and lenses (the plans call these vision materials), and, on many plans, an allowance toward contact lenses instead of glasses. Some plans add a copay for the contact lens fitting and set prices for lens options such as anti-glare coating, progressives, or Transitions. The exact coverage and the allowance vary by employer and by plan year, which is why we read yours before the visit rather than guessing from the plan name.
What a vision plan does not cover is medical care. Dry eye, a red or painful eye, glaucoma, macular degeneration, a diabetic eye exam for anyone living with diabetes, new floaters, or an eye emergency all go to your health insurance, including Medicare, because they are medical conditions rather than a glasses prescription. If you have both a vision plan and a medical plan, bring both cards. We bill the right one for the visit you are having, and if a routine exam turns up a medical problem, we tell you which plan applies before we do anything more.
- Usually covered by a vision plan: the yearly exam, a frame allowance, a lens or contact lens allowance, some lens options at a set price
- Usually covered by medical insurance: dry eye visits, glaucoma and macular degeneration care, diabetic eye exams, urgent eye problems
- Usually not covered by either: eyeglass lens upgrades past the allowance, most in-office dry eye treatments, low vision devices
Does vision insurance cover contact lenses and prescription sunglasses?
Usually one or the other. Most vision plans give you a yearly materials allowance and let you spend it on frames and lenses or on contact lenses, not both. Some plans pay part of the contact lens fitting as well, and a few carry a separate contact lens benefit. When you order contact lenses through us, the allowance comes off first and the Alcon rebates apply on annual supplies.
Prescription sunglasses count as eyewear, so the frame allowance applies to a pair of sunglasses from our optical the same way it applies to everyday frames. Many plans also give members a discount on a second pair once the allowance is used, and some add other discounts on lens options, which is how a lot of our patients pay for the sunglasses they wear on the river. Those extra savings vary by plan, so ask us and we will read your plan's second-pair rule to you. We carry the frame brands the plans recognize, and the in-network benefits apply to every one of them.
How do we check your vision benefits before your visit?
You should never find out what your plan pays at the front desk after the exam. Give us the plan name and the member ID from your card when you book your appointment, or read them to us over the phone during office hours, and we look up what your plan covers for the visit you are having and what it does not. By the time you park, you know your copay, your costs for anything the plan sits out, and whether glasses or contacts come with an allowance.
If your employer changed plans in January, or you enroll in a new plan during open enrollment, tell us. A new plan year usually resets the exam and the allowance, and it is the most common reason a patient who has been with us for years suddenly has a different copay. Employees who carry a vision plan and a health plan from the same company sometimes have the two combined on one card; bring it and we will sort out which one pays for what.
- 1
Send us the card
The plan name and member ID, by phone, by text, or typed into the notes when you book online. A photo of the front and back works too.
- 2
We run the check
We confirm we are in-network providers on your plan, what the exam costs you, and how much allowance is left for frames, lenses, or contacts.
- 3
You hear the numbers first
Before the visit, not after. If something is not covered, you decide about it with the price in hand.
What if I do not have vision insurance?
You are in good company. About one patient in fourteen pays for the exam without a plan, and we quote the price and any fees before we book it, along with the cost of a contact lens fitting if you want one. Age does not change the price of a routine exam here, and the exam is the same one our plan members get. We take cash, check, the major cards, HSA and FSA cards, and Cherry, CareCredit, or Afterpay when a pair of glasses and frames is easier to pay for over time.
Is vision insurance worth it? For a family that needs glasses every year, a plan through work usually pays for itself with the first pair, and the savings grow with every pair of kids' glasses. For one adult with a stable prescription, the self-pay exam plus a frame from our optical can cost about the same as a year of premiums, so the plan saves money only if you use the allowance. We will do that math with you on the phone, no plan required, and we would rather you keep the money than buy coverage you will not use.
