The Myth About $220 LASIK
Have you ever wondered how corporate discount LASIK centers can afford to offer extremely discounted LASIK for prices that seem too cheap to be true? You should know that 99% of the time they can’t, and the cost is considerably more.
DO YOU REALLY QUALIFY FOR LOW-PRICED LASIK DISCOUNTS
The corporate LASIK discount centers only offer cheap LASIK ($220 per eye) to the 1% of the population whose prescription is so low that often times they don’t actually need LASIK. Here’s how their misleading LASIK scheme works: The corporate laser vision franchises base the price of your procedure on your prescription strength. If your prescription is among the lowest 1% of the general population, then you just “might” qualify for their cheapest price. Unless you have an astigmatism. Then you’ll pay a substantially higher price that they NEVER promote.
For you to receive LASIK for $220 per eye, your prescription typically has to be less than one diopter of nearsightedness with NO astigmatism. Most people who have less than one diopter of nearsightedness – and NO astigmatism – barely have a need to wear prescription glasses at all, much less need LASIK. And anyone truly offering LASIK for $220 or $250 per eye to everyone would soon go out of business. That’s because the royalties that surgeons have to pay to the manufacturers for each eye they treat with the laser (known as a “Click Fee” in ophthalmology) is nearly twice as much as their advertised $220 LASIK price. When you add in the significant cost of annual laser maintenance, disposable supplies, surgical staff costs, surgeon fees, practice overhead, follow-up supplies, and follow-up care, the discount LASIK centers would be losing thousands of dollars on every patient they treat.
Corporate Discount LASIK vs. Rush LASIK
HOW IT WORKS
This method of discounted advertising is known as a “Bait & Switch” tactic. The “bait” part of their marketing is to lure patients in with an unbelievably low price for LASIK. The “switch” comes into play when their testing determines that your level of nearsightedness and/or astigmatism falls outside of their $220 per eye pricing. You are then “switched” to their tiered pricing model, which is a much higher price that is actually closer or equal to the price of LASIK at reputable eye centers.
ALL LASIK TECHNOLOGY IS NOT EQUAL
But here’s what makes this type of advertising even more misleading. The lowest-priced LASIK is also based on the old LASIK technology with a blade versus the newer state-of-the-art bladeless or “all-laser” LASIK methods that have become the gold standard among ophthalmologists worldwide. So, unless you want your LASIK procedure performed with outdated technology with limited procedure choices – or are barely nearsighted enough to need LASIK – don’t fall for the bait & switch tactics of the corporate discount LASIK centers. If you’ve ever noticed, their discount pricing never depicts what you are going to pay if you don’t qualify for their lowest price.
Our affordable price at Rush Eye Associates for LASIK and other vision correction procedures applies to everyone and is done with an all-inclusive pricing model without any hidden fees. We respect your time and your intelligence too much to want to bring you in for a sales pitch. At Rush Eye, you will meet a physician who discusses your eye health and which vision correction options are most appropriate for your exact situation, not a salesperson.
ALL-INCLUSIVE PRICE MODEL FOR LASIK
This is exactly what it sounds like. There are no other fees or expenses. It includes all preoperative diagnostic testing and imaging, consultation with the doctor, the procedure, the medicated post-operative eye drops, and 1 year of post-operative eye care including any need for retreatment.