Fees for Treatment

PROCEDURE FEES INFORMATION:
We have bundled the first and second treatments as one fee. There is no additional out of pocket expense to the patient for the second treatment. We do charge for any additional (3rd, 4th, etc., treatment if needed). Read the detailed fee schedule information below for more detailed information as well as additional information on medical insurance reimbursement. There is no time limitation: A touch up treatment will always be a touch up treatment whether it is the next day, or a year or more later.

We are not an insurance-based practice. That is, we do not submit your insurance information to your insurer and wait for their decision to pay. In addition, we do not “balance-bill” for the difference between what your insurer pays and our stated fees. We collect fees at the time of service. We will provide the documents you may need to submit the claim on your own. We can not provide advice as to whether your insurance company will pay for the procedure. More on that on a separate page.

Payment may be made by cash, personal check (from US or Canadian banks), or credit cards (VISA, MC, AMEX, but not the Discover Card). Debit cards can be used if they carry the VISA or MC logo.

FEES FOR EVALUATION / CONSULTATION / TREATMENTS SERIES
INITIAL EXAMINATION FEE / CONSULTATION – $250.00 (one-time fee)

$250. 00 for initial evaluation, consultation, slit-lamp examination and dilated examination of the retina and vitreous cavity. This initial fee is due regardless of whether laser is performed or not and whether evaluating one or both eyes. This thorough visit takes about 30-45 min. The goal is to assess the health of the eye and retina, to visualize the floater(s), and determine the “treatability” and prognosis for treatment success. We block off enough time at this visit to go ahead and treat if you wish. It is your choice.

STANDARD INITIAL TREATMENT FEE- $1850.00 per eye for first two treatments (that is $1850 TOTAL for the first two treatments)

Most treatments require about the same duration and effort: about 30-60 minutes of actual treatment time. Each shot is individually aimed, assessed for safety, and fired. The procedure requires sustained, intense concentration and meticulous attention to laser focus and awareness in a small 3-dimensional space. It is not automated or software-controlled.

SECOND TREATMENT OF SAME EYE – No Charge, included in initial treatment fee

THIRD AND SUBSEQUENT TREATMENT OF SAME EYE – $400.00 per eye, per treatment session

Any subsequent treatments in the same eye will be charged a facility/laser fee at $400.00 per eye per session even though it requires about the same amount of time and effort as the initial treatment. Unlike some laser treatment specialists, we do not set an expiration time or date to the touch up fee. If you return 1 day or 1 year later for a touch up treatment, we will do so at this fee. As a general guideline, most floater treatments will require more than one treatment.

UNSUCCESSFUL TREATMENT EFFORT / ATTEMPTED TREATMENT – $400.00/eye at surgeon’s discretion
Rarely, because of unanticipated circumstances such as previous eye surgery, the difficult or essentially impossible location of the floater, we will be unable to achieve satisfactory results. Despite the most diligent effort, we may not know the results of this effort until the following morning. Under these circumstances, we do not feel it is appropriate to charge the full fee. We want excellent results as much as you do, but we need to feel that we we are delivering value for your money. This has occurred occasionally and most commonly when treating young people in their 20’s-30’s. We may ask for a significantly reduced fee (essentially a touch up fee) to offset the facility and laser use as well as the surgeon’s time and effort and practice overhead costs.

RETINAL / FLOATER DOCUMENTATION & PHOTOGRAPHY AND/OR ULTRASONOGRAPHY – $ 0
We do not charge the patient for these procedures and interpretation if they are performed.

BUDGETING FOR TREATMENT / SETTING EXPECTATIONS
We have found the majority of isolated floater material (such as with Wei ring-type floaters) can eliminated in the first one or two treatments. Larger, diffuse, and cloud-like vitreal condensations may take 3-4 treatment sessions or rarely, several. Treatments can be performed on consecutive days, or spaced apart at the patient’s convenience. It is impractical to predict how many treatments it may take prior to examining the patient, and even then , it can be quite difficult. This pre-treatment uncertainty is one of the weaknesses and shortcoming of the procedure.

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