There are many niches in this industry. What do you drive? Is it something that just has the bare necessities to get your from point A to B, or do you buy something that has more comfortable features, better mechanics, or a better ride? Some patients want the Versa, the cheapest car in America, and some want a Lexus, with many wanting something in between. Just the same as some patients desire someone to hold their hand and explain everything all the way through, and others prefer a more hands off approach.
Most providers I know are doing something that blends the two points of view. They are offering either packages or discounts that are not available to those with insurance. Whether it is a Payment in Full on the same day of service, or a "special buy" that is not on the insurance plans, the idea is to offer them value based products that are competitive with the VCP's copays with a higher net and more control available on these packages.
As for VCPs. I am not a huge fan of them. However in this country, we seem to value capitalism and they have a right just as any company to make a profit. Originally it was similar to the original buying groups. The way they made money is they asked the supplier of the good or service to accept a discount in exchange for the marketing they were doing to bring patients to our doors. We agreed to take a bit less money for the ability to be listed in provider directories, enabling a more targeted, and larger audience than the typical advertising in the day could bring. They made money by those who did not use the services, and typically charging a few percentage points more to the patient than their avg payout.
Fast forward several decades and the landscape has changed. Lens processing technology has enabled us to not only process lenses faster, but by ditching the traditional thousands of skus to cover the range of designs, adds, and materials to a more streamlined selection of SV lenses/pucks. Larger labs require less hands on processing, as edgers get more advanced in copying shapes, drilling, grooving, etc. The internet has enabled many practices to increase their marketing efforts without having to spend the thousands of dollars a practice used to have to use in order to reach a community.
Progress is great, but the continued vertical integration by a few companies seem to want to promote old relationships. It is up to each practice to figure out who their market is, and how best to serve them. This includes the use of third party plans. Craig's market and mine are two totally different sets of patients. It would take years for me to sell some of the beautiful product he carries. Then again, his patients are looking for a certain element of luxury, where as I serve a population with 30-35% of patients on medicaid. I also though have several that are doing quite well and several times over that poverty mark but want to use their benefits. I have spent several years refining my business model to compensate for third party plans and to maximize our return with them. Why I wish I did not have to deal with them, they are a necessity for my community.
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