Did You know the cost of an eye test in Quebec .................................

[Chris Ryser]

Did You know the cost of an eye test in Quebec .................................

Optometric services

For whom?

The following persons are entitled to the covered services without having to pay:

• persons under the age of 18
• persons age 65 and over
• persons age 18 to 64 who have been recipients of last-resort financial assistance for at least the past 12 consecutive months
• persons age 60 to 64 who have been receiving a spouse's allowance under the Old Age Security Act for at least 12 consecutive months and who, without this allowance, would be entitled to last-resort financial assistance benefits
• visually impaired persons

For everyone

In the event of a sudden eye problem such as conjunctivitis or inflammation of the eyelid, or where there is a foreign body on the surface of the eye, persons eligible for the Health Insurance Plan are covered only for an emergency examination, performed by an optometrist, in order to establish the diagnosis.

see all of it:

http://www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca/en/citizens/health-insurance/healthcare/Pages/optometric-services.aspx

[Chris Ryser]

If you are 65 years of age or older ..........................

Optometric Services




If you are 65 years of age or older and have a valid health insurance card, you are entitled to a complete eye examination each year.

see all of it:

http://www4.gouv.qc.ca/EN/Portail/Citoyens/Evenements/aines/Pages/services-optometriques-couverts.aspx

[Chris Ryser]

This makes it interesting for chains to employ ODs...................................

This makes it interesting for chains to employ ODs.

The provincial health care pays for the exams, if the patient is below 18 or over 65 years old, and healthcare pays for 1 exam per year.

The provincial health department then pays a good part of the salary.

[optimensch]

Just for your information - there is a big push by the association of optometrists of Quebec to encourage all optometrists in the province to pull out of Medicare.
The fees being paid by Medicare to optometrists are simply too low to cover the real costs of an eye exam and there is a decent chance this might actually cause the optometrists to move together as a group and simply pull out , en masse, from the government system. Stay tuned.

[Chris Ryser]

I do not think that this is the right moment for patients............................

Just for your information - there is a big push by the association of optometrists of Quebec to encourage all optometrists in the province to pull out of Medicare.

The fees being paid by Medicare to optometrists are simply too low to cover the real costs of an eye exam and there is a decent chance this might actually cause the optometrists to move together as a group and simply pull out , en masse, from the government system. Stay tuned.

Optimensch.............thanks for the news.

I do not think that this is the right moment for patients to go from a no pay eye test, to one that will cost more than the government pays the Optometrists now under the general medicare system.

That will be a few hundred percent higher charge for an eye exam than it costs now for the man/women off the street.

Eyeglass sales at Optometrist offices will drop heavily just by the mental influx of the idea of having been charged for a service that was free for the last many years.

Furthermore, if you follow what is being done in India in the way of vision checking for the last few years, I am just wondering how long it will take to spread to this continent. Times these days are changing at thunderbolt speed.

[optimensch]

I guess many things are cheaper in India and people can go to India for cheap surgery and other goods/services. For the most part people have no problem paying for optometry services here and due to competition the price for an un-insured eye exam is quite low in quebec compared to Ontario for example.

In fact, as you point out, people are buying glasses/contacts on line and therefore exam revenue becomes more important for independent optometrists. The fees paid by RAMQ do not cover my expenses, and in fact we need at least double the fees paid by the government system in order to make this work. That won't happen of course, and so I do hope that my colleagues all band together and pull out of the public system entirely. We shall soon find out!

[Chris Ryser]

I should have posted this one on here and put it on your other thread,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I should have posted this one on here and put it on your other thread,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

On the other side of the Globe ......................................



Essilor project turns youth into optometricians for basic eye-care

HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 4:



Essilor decided to addressthe concerns of the affected 90 per cent of whom reside in developing nations,especially India, Chinaand the poorer Asian and African countries. Of these, the majority wereconcentrated in rural areas. The multinational took up a strategy of massscreening, training of rural youth, providing basic toolkits and facilitatingthe creation of Eye Mitras.

from:

https://www.optiboard.com/forums/showthread.php/67556-Project-turns-youth-into-optometricians-for-basic-eye-care