Enrollment & Fees

Enrolling in Vision Therapy

​​​​​​​Enrolling in Our Visual Efficiency Clinic

Our Visual Efficiency Clinic and custom-designed Vision Therapy Program provide the opportunity for people to improve their academic success, sports and/or work performance, and visual processing skills. To obtain the best results, a commitment of time, patience, and consistent follow-through are paramount.

Vision Therapy is similar to Physical Therapy for your eyes. After developing an individualized, targeted Vision Therapy Program, we will discuss ordering either an in-office program or setting up you or your child with an at-home program. Based on the diagnosis, a combination of techniques will be prescribed utilizing a variety of specialized equipment and media.

The first step in any Vision Therapy program is a comprehensive eye health physical. From there, our doctors will order specific binocular vision and visual efficiency baseline diagnostic tests to help identify and hone in on your problems and treatment goals. Following a thorough evaluation, we can advise you as to whether Vision Therapy would be an appropriate treatment.

If Vision Therapy is ordered, we will develop a treatment plan requiring a number of office visits and ‘homework’ that typically ranges from 12 to 24 weeks. Effective therapy requires visual skills to be developed until they are integrated with other systems and become automatic, enabling individuals to achieve their full potential.

Fees and Insurance

Unfortunately, Vision Therapy Services are not often covered by insurance. Some plans even specifically exclude Vision Therapy altogether. We do make an effort to coordinate benefits and will gladly draft letters of medical necessity and seek prior authorizations, as directed by your insurance.

Within Vision Therapy, there are two main categories of work:

1) Orthoptic Therapy (billed to medical insurance). This consists of a specific procedural code recognized via medical insurance to target specific, neuromuscular abnormalities, primarily addressing eye movement and eye focusing skills.
2) Vision and Learning Development (not billed to insurance). This consists of a number of therapeutic regimens that target visual development, visual processing, visual learning, and visual perceptual skills. Similar to tutoring, this is entirely self-pay.

At North Shore Eye Health and Wellness, we utilize both of these therapeutic options in order to best serve the needs of our patients. We will bill the Orthoptic component at each visit, directly to your medical insurance. For the Vision and Learning Development portion, we will bill you at the start of the program in one lump sum. Like a private school tuition payment, this lump sum will cover all equipment, technology fees, and non-covered services during each visit. This will be charged in 12-week increments.

Finally, before, during, and after the vision therapy program, our doctors may order progress evaluations. These services involve the doctor performing tests and measures, reporting progress, counseling on compliance, writing new prescriptions for procedures, coordination of care with parents, schools, or other professionals, and/or education of patients/parents on specific treatment procedures to follow. These evaluations will be billed as a medical office visit to the medical insurance on file.

Prior to the start of any Vision Therapy Program, our clinic will provide a financial agreement, outlining the above and providing specifics on billing, charges, and financial expectations. For payment, we will accept cash, check, credit card, Care Credit for payment plans, and Health Savings/Flex Spending Accounts. For more questions or further inquiries into vision therapy, please give the clinic a call at 262-421-4412.