Consumer Question - Help

[Contact Lover]

Hello I am not sure if you can help or not but I thought I would give it a shot.



Let me describe the situation- I have been wearing contacts for 10+ years for the last 4 years I have worn Focus night & days because they are the most comfortable contacts that I have ever had. I do not wear these contacts to sleep in I just like that they are so comfortable. I have my eyes checked regularly and I have never had a problem. I have not ordered contacts over the internet for over two years so I was not aware that the law had changed. I usually will buy them at my doctors unless they are way over priced.



This year I got new insurance & had to visit a different doctor. The only place close for me to go that was covered under my insurance was Wal-Mart’s Vision. When I went there to get my exam I brought my box of Focus Night & Days with me (I have one sealed contact for each eye left). I wore my Focus contacts to the eye exam & also brought my glasses with me. I asked the doctor if my insurance would allow my to pay the difference between the daily wear contacts that they would cover & my preferred Focus contacts & he said no. No big deal I told him that I would get the contacts that the insurance covered but I would also like to order my Focus contacts. He said no problem my eyes looked very healthy & all my tests were good. The daily wear contacts that he prescribed were Cooper Silver 7 - I thought since my insurance would pay for them I would just get them (never hurts to have a backup in a emergency). When he went to ring everything up I asked him how much the Focus lens would be & they were WAY over priced!! I said I think I'll just let you order me the ones that the insurance covers & I'll purchase my Focus contacts online. He said that was fine that was my choice. When I went to leave he handed me a prescription - for Cooper Silver 7



After coming home & trying to order my Focus contacts online & then reading everything about this new law I felt like a real fool. Here he is telling me it is no problem if I want to order my Focus online that I could go ahead & do that but yet he never gave me a script for them. So I gave him the benefit of the doubt & went ahead & placed the order to see if he would give my script for the Focus to the company I was ordering from & I also sent them the script for the Cooper Silver 7 just to verify his name for them. Well, the company called to tell me they couldn't fill my order because when they called the doctor he said he would not prescribe them for me because he did not carry that brand (remember he was going to order that brand for me until I found out the price). The company asked him to allow them to substitute another contact for the Cooper Silver 7 since they did not have Coopers made with that material & he said no that he would not verify that prescription. I think the company only asked him that to try to allow me to order something from them, but I want the Focus lens that are comfortable for me! This company also asked him if there was a medical reason to deny my Focus script & he said no!



I have never worn Cooper Silver 7 or any Cooper brand contacts & I was never fitted with them at the exam. I was however wearing my Focus contacts that I prefer to wear. The doctor knew that I could not order these contacts without a prescription but yet encouraged me that it was okay to buy them off the web and not purchase them from him. If I had been okay with paying the price the doctor was charging he would have ordered me my Focus right then because he already had it on the screen for my order until I had him take it off.



So now my insurance will not pay for another eye exam this year. I thought this law was suppose to make it easier for me to buy my contacts where I choose? Now I am stuck with contacts that are uncomfortable & I have no prescription for my Focus contacts. So does it not seem that I am only going to be allowed to have a prescription for the contacts I order from the doctor’s office?



I looked into the FTC but they just take complaints they do not act on any individual problem. I am not sure where to turn for help but I sure do feel like a fool for believing him. I will definitely be informed on the laws before my visit next year. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate them.



Thank you

[Chris Ryser]

So far I have not seen that you went back to the OD and ask him to change the Rx to the other brand that you actually want, and what his response was.

[890890]

So far I have not seen that you went back to the OD and ask him to change the Rx to the other brand that you actually want, and what his response was.

Well that's simple, because he doesn't want to see that OD again, and that's why he comes here:bbg:

[Jubilee]

Go back to the Doctor and ask him what the deal is...

Tell him these new lenses are uncomfortable, and you want him to work with you to find an alternative.

It maybe he will write the RX for the Night and Day, it may be he tries a different product made from the same type of material.

Just out of curiosity... What is your insurance?

Many insurance companies have a "formulary" their Contact Lens coverage is supposed to provide a minimum of either 2-4 boxes depending on if you are a new wearer (or even new to this practice) or established.

If the doctor prescribes a different brand than these lenses, then they normally provide an allowance. Typically in the $110-120 range, though some maybe higher or lower than that.

Many of these plans have the older lenses as part of the formulary and only have spherical powers.. no torics. So there are many times when at least we end up using the allowance..

Nothing can be solved via the web in this matter. We don't have you, your chart, the doctor or your eyes in front of us. Talk to your insurance company to see if their was an allowance available instead, and talk to the doctor and ask him why he was willing to sell you them in the office, but not online.


Cassandra

[Contact Lover]

I will try & call my insurance compnay. I have tried to phone my doctor to discuss this situation & he is either not there or I am asked to leave my phone number, but he never calls back. I have made another appointment just to have the oppurtunity to talk to him. I have Unison Health Plan.

[Steve Machol]

As per the OptiBoard Posting Guidelines:

Consumers are allowed to post on the Board, as long as the posts concern general eyecare related topics. However please be aware that any questions that involve diagnosing specific eyecare and eyewear problems are not appropriate for an online discussion forum. These kinds of questions should be discussed with a qualified eyecare professional who has examined you and is familiar with your situation. Posts asking for diagnostic help will be closed or removed.

[Contact Lover]

I was not asking for a diagnostic view - I was asking about the new law that is in place & who can help the consumers with that law. I only gave all the info to give a clear view of why I was asking, but that is okay you can remove my post. I called Walmart's main office for customer problems & they are handling the situation. They pulled up my prescription from the Vision office I went to & they ordered me my Focus contacts & matched the price that the internet company was giving, since the doctor noted in my online Walmart vision file that I was previously fitted for Focus & wearing them successfully.