So I just looked into my firm’s Healthcare Spending Account to see of corneal molds would be covered. And they WOULD BE! I’m so excited! A couple weeks ago I received a newsletter in the mail from some eye care place in Charlotte. Upon opening it up I found an article on corneal molds. I also found out that someone in my office got corneal molds in 2005, so I quickly chatted her up about them.
1) Corneal molds sound weird, but they are actually just hard contact lenses. Except – they are worn at night while you sleep and you take them out in the morning.
2) After wearing them all night, your eyes have been reshaped so that you have 20/20 vision which lasts for 11-15 hours.
3) The longer you wear them, the less you have to wear them. My co-worker wears them every other night now, and her 20/20 vision lasts 36-48 hours.
4) Like contact lenses, if I decide not to wear them one night, I have the option of just wearing my glasses the next day.
5) It is a cheaper alternative to LASIK surgery and less intrusive since you aren’t having laser shot into your eyeballs.
My co-worker said the cost is between $1,500 and $2,000 and if the lenses break or get lost, you only pay what you’d pay for a normal contact lense replacement – about $150 or so. She said in three years she has NEVER had a broken lenses.
The reason why the molds are expensive is because corneal molds follow the same procedure as LASIK in figuring out the current shape of your eyeball. Then using those measurements the lenses are made. Today I looked at my HSA plan and it confirmed that vision exams, glasses AND LENSES are all covered, as well as RK and LASIK surgery. So, beginning in October I will be setting aside $150/month in pre-tax dollars into my HSA account and come August 2009 I will make an appointment to have the corneal molds made. VERY excited.