Do I use vision or medical insurance for my visit?

The eyes are unique in that they have to very separate components: their visual ability, and their health.  Depending on the primary reason for the visit, either vision or health insurance will cover the visit.

Vision Insurance:  This covers routine vision exams.  This includes finding prescriptions for glasses, (and in some cases contact lenses) as well as an eye wellness exam where we screen for a wide variety of conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts.

Medical Insurance: This covers eye emergency type visits such as trauma, foreign objects in eyes, pink eye, and dry eye.  Medical insurance also covers the treatment of more chronic conditions such as glaucoma. 
 

If you are unsure, just ask our receptionist.  Our staff will be happy to help guide you through the process and help you utilize the proper insurance.  No need to leave downtown Santa Cruz for great eyecare!

Can I send you records of my eye history to-date or do you start from scratch at the first appointment?

Yes!  If you have previous records including medical eye evaluations, glasses or contact lens prescriptions or other optometry or ophthalmology notes, it is helpful if you can send those to us or bring them when you come to visit us at Midtown Optometry.  Baseline tests will help us better manage any eye conditions, and a contact lens or glasses history will allow us to understand how your vision has changed over time.  For contact lens wearers, it is also useful to bring the boxes from the contact lenses you are currently wearing since this will save you a follow-up visit.  Often we have new lenses available in your prescription if we need to give free trials to evaluate changes.

My insurance plan covers the entire family, how can you accommodate for us?

Often times the entire family will be covered under the same vision and medical insurance.  We can check family eligibility for vision exams as well as glasses and contact lenses.  Children should have a comprehensive eye exam before starting school at age 4 or 5 at the latest.  A school screening or vision exam at the pediatrician is not as comprehensive as the workup from an optometrist.

We can often book families all in the same time block to make things easier on parents.