Benign and malignant cancers can sometimes attack the eyes. Left untreated, ocular tumors threaten not only a person’s vision, but his or her life as well.
Choroidal melanoma is a malignant cancer caused by uncontrolled cell growth within the eye. It occurs most frequently in patients 60 to 65 years old. Retinoblastoma, a cancer originating in the retina, is most common in children under five. Nationwide, over 500 new cases of retinoblastoma are diagnosed every year. Ocular cancers also include those that spread to the eyes from other parts of the body, especially breast, lung and bowel cancer.
Symptoms of eye cancer include blurry vision, distorted vision, blind spots, decreased side vision, white pupils, strabismus, red eye, eye pain and complete vision loss. Sometimes ocular tumors present no symptoms at all. For information about the various ways to treat eye cancer, read about the Eye Institute’s Ocular Oncology service.
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Understanding Your Vision and Medical Insurance
Routine Vision Exam
A routine vision exam usually covers:
- A vision screening
- An eye exam
- A refraction (the test used to determine your glasses prescription)
- A prescription for glasses
Contact Lenses
If you wear contact lenses, there may be an extra fee for a contact lens fitting. Coverage for this varies by plan, so please check with your vision insurance provider.
If a Medical Issue Is Found During Your Exam
During your eye exam, your doctor may identify a medical condition such as dry eye, an eye infection, diabetes-related changes, or another issue that requires medical care.
If this happens, your doctor may recommend one of the following options:
- Return for a separate medical visit.
- The medical visit would be billed to your medical insurance.
- Your routine vision exam would remain billed to your vision insurance.
- This is necessary because vision and medical insurance cannot both be billed on the same day.
- Address the medical issue during the current appointment.
- The current appointment would be billed to your medical insurance instead of your vision insurance.
- You would return another day for the routine vision exam, which would be billed to vision insurance.
- Please note that refraction (the test used to determine your glasses prescription) is not covered by medical insurance.
Your doctor will help you choose the option that best meets your individual care needs.
Questions About Costs
For an estimate of your out-of-pocket cost, please call Patient Financial Services at 414-777-0539. Please note, Medicare and most medical insurance plans do not cover refraction. The refraction service will be billed to you.
