Competition in the laser-eye-surgery industry has put pressure on prices, making it blind folly to pay the traditional $4,000 or more to sharpen your eyesight.
If your local centers are charging the old rates, you should wait for prices to drop or follow the more than 10,000 Americans who traveled last year to save up to $3,000 on the procedure, which most insurance plans fail to cover.
The leading surgery to correct distance vision is the 15-minute Lasik procedure, in which a surgeon peels back a flap of corneal tissue and reshapes the underlying tissue with a laser beam. The flap flops back and then adheres naturally.
In 1998 the typical cost for Lasik surgery in the U.S. on both eyes was $4,360, according to Market Scope research. This year, with more than 900,000 Americans expected to get zapped, the average price has fallen to $3,680. But some centers charge only $2,000, and that appears to be where the average price is headed in the next few years.
Fees among laser centers vary based on the type of technology, the surgeon's reputation and, most important, the local competition.
When Kiplinger's recently surveyed 30 centers nationwide, prices ranged from $5,500 in Havertown, Pa., to $2,000 in Cincinnati. (Prices were for procedures done with similar Visx lasers, which are used in three-fourths of all cases.)
Prices varied even among the national chains that offer near-duplicate services: The TLC Laser Eye Center in Rockville, Md., charged $3,100 more than one in Seattleh.
You can find the lowest costs in Canada, because the Canadian government approved use of the lasers earlier and competitive pressures set in sooner.
Stephen Smith, spokesman for Lasik Vision Canada, a Toronto-based chain of laser-eye-surgery centers, says that because of the lower fees half of the chain's customers in 1999 were Americans.
If you're traveling for the procedure, one key question is who will do the standard follow-up exams a week, a month and three months later.
Some doctors say that the same doctor who did the procedure should do the subsequent checkups, mainly to identify any complications early. Others say any qualified doctor can provide follow-up care, though that will add to the cost.
The fee should cover exams and medicines as well as the surgeon's fee and the laser royalty. It should also cover more surgery if up to one year later you do not see as clearly as when you used glasses or contacts.