LASIK Surgery Cost
Almost 7 million people around the world are annually getting LASIK surgery procedure to alter the shape of their cornea so that light travels properly and focuses precisely onto the retina surface. There are hardly 96% of the patients that will get the vision they were longing for after the LASIK procedure. The food and drug administration (FDA) first gave the approval of LASIK eye surgery in 1998. If you or someone you are familiar with is considering LASIK eye surgery, it is essential to not only know the risk factors and benefits of the surgery itself but also think about the financial costs.
Lasik surgery on an average costs between 2,000 to 3,000 dollars each eye and most probably the insurance does not cover the procedure as it falls under the category of an elective or cosmetic surgery. Most of the eye surgeons who specialize in refractive ye disorders in the U.S. are charging fixed price for almost all the vision correcting methods. More than 71% of the eye surgeons who use an excimer laser to alter the shape of the cornea are charging one price. In other words, the utilization of advanced technology like the use of femtosecond laser to form the flap in the eye cornea to achieve bladeless LASIK comes in a single fee and the doctors do not charge it separately.
However, some eye surgeons calculate their costs on the utilization of specific technology that they employ during the procedure. For instance, they might charge more for performing custom LASIK or all-laser LASIK that uses wave front technology to get more customized results. A small portion of the surgeons base their laser surgery charges on the eye prescription strength of a certain patient and in this kind of pricing, the patients with stronger eye prescriptions have to pay way in comparison to the patients with weaker prescriptions.
The average cost of a LASIK eye surgery in 2021 in the U.S. was around 2,246 dollars each eye according to the statistics. The statistical analytics gather the costs information from a variety of ophthalmologists who perform LASIK surgery routinely along with other vision correcting procedures. Other vision correction procedures include SMILE, refractive lens exchange, and PRK. The real price you will pay for your LASIK eye surgery depends on numerous factors such as the reputation and experience of the surgeon and the type of technology they use during your procedure.
You might come across some advertisements that promise LASIK eye surgery for less than 1,000 dollars each eye which sounds like a good deal. But going for these bargain-basement prices can offer some catches like the advertising price only corrects the mild nearsightedness. So if you have moderate farsightedness or astigmatism, the costs for LASIK end up much higher the price in the advertisement. In addition, the offer price sometimes does not cover all the charges of the procedure that you undergo. Another drawback of these bargain advertisements is that the procedure employs older technology to correct your vision errors. (11)