Can my insurance cover my laser eye surgery? – is one of the most common questions we get asked by our patients. The answer is, it depends. Some private insurance can, but it is required to be checked individually. Laser eye surgery is elective surgery, meaning it’s optional, and therefore not medically necessary. While patients with refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism) are suffering from a medical condition, most of the insurance companies still list laser vision correction under the “elective” procedures. In Korea elective surgery cannot be covered by nor national health insurance or private insurance.
Although the surgery itself is not covered, first postoperative check up after the surgery is free of charge, and outpatient treatment from 6 months postop can be covered by National Health Insurance.
[Schedule of Postoperative Check-up]
SMILE: next day – 1 month – 6 months – 1 year
LASIK: next day – 1 month – 6 months – 1 year
LASEK(PRK): 4 days post op – 3~4 weeks – every month for 6 months
PIOL: next day – within 1 week – 3 weeks – 1 month – regular check-up required
*Outpatient treatment costs 15,000 KRW on weekdays and 30,000 KRW on Saturdays from the second follow-up for each appointment.
With insurance, prescribed medication including artificial tears is also cheaper which can help you save some extra dollars. It’s useful to know that you can save some budget on your doctor appointments and medication after laser eye surgery as postop care is just as important as the actual surgery itself.
I hope this helped answer your question about insurance regarding laser eye surgery.
“I woke up this morning and I could see!”
“I wish I had done it sooner!”
“It’s truly life changing!”
These are the most common feedback comments we hear from patients who undergo laser eye surgery at B&VIIT Eye Center, and they say their new and improved vision is worth every won!