My ICL (Implantable Contact Lens) surgery was going to cost about between $5,200 to $6,000 USD and I had to figure out how I was going to pay for it. Sadly, corrective eye surgery is not covered by insurance because it’s considered “cosmetic”.
There were two major reasons I was able to afford eye surgery. While I could have put it on a credit card, thankfully because of my employer, it was very easy to pay for my surgery (over the span of 2 years). I understand the ways I was able to afford eye surgery may not apply to everyone however, I do hope it helps out those who didn’t think these were options.
I decided to schedule my eye surgery appointment a year in advance. The reason for this is because I wanted plenty of time to “pay off” at least 50% of my balance so I wasn’t a slave to my loans for 2 years after having the surgery. NV Eye Surgery had no problem with scheduling me a year in advance and having me make payments towards my balance. With the ways I was able to save, I only had to make 3 payments. Two payments were from my loans and the third payment was out of pocket.
Opted for a FSA Account Through My Employer
My employer had an optional benefit (which you opt to enroll in at the beginning of the year) called “Healthcare Flexible Spending Account” (FSA) through Wageworks which meant I could have up to $2,650 pre-tax “bank account” to go towards health care expenses. Thankfully, eye surgery was included. I wish I would have known about this more the years prior to my eye surgery because that would have saved me on other eligible expenses. Click here for more information.
You need to spend whatever amount you opt for by the end of that year, so make sure you are not overestimating your costs. The great thing about FSA is that it’s pre-tax and it automatically takes money out of my paycheck to go towards my FSA balance.
You can use your FULL FSA balance when your benefits start. In January, I had $2,600 paid towards my surgery, even though I was still making “payments” on it.
Every paycheck took away $100 pretax to go towards my balance, which paid for my surgery. I took the maximum amount I could of $2,650. Another thing I love about this, is they give you a credit card to pay your expenses. After paying for the service via credit card, you submit the receipt to Wageworks, along with the explanation of the service (in my case, explained in writing this go towards my eye surgery), and it’s done! Super easy.
Took Out A 401k Loan
The second thing I did was take out a 401K loan. The loan was for $2,500 to pay off over the course of two years, taking out $50 every paycheck POST tax. This didn’t bother me at all and it was money that I didn’t even miss. In combination with my FSA, it felt like I was getting a free surgery. My interest rate was 6.50% for my 401k loan, which meant I would have to pay $169.17 USD TOTAL for my 24 month loan, which I was very happy with. Again, what was my alternative? To put it on a credit card? This saved me. Since this was automatically taken out of my check every month, there was no additional effort on my part and I rarely thought about my loan.
By the time I had my surgery, my 401k loan was 50% paid off, my Healthcare Flexible Spending Account was 6 months paid into (out of a 12 month commitment).
For The Rest…
With my two “loans”, I had $5,150 paid off but that still left me with a potential $900 to still pay, depending on the severity of my astigmatism. At the time of my scheduling my ICL surgery, I didn’t know the extent of my astigmatism because they had to do a variety of tests to check the conditions of my eyes, closer to the surgery date. Since I wasn’t sure yet if I had to raise an additional $900, in the mean time while I figured out my loan situation, I had set up an “Eye Surgery” goal through my Digit app.
I love the app Digit, it’s only $2.99 a month, and worth every penny. This app lets you set goals for things you want to save up for. You can manually deposit funds into a specific goal and/or you can have Digit automatically deposit small amounts into your goal (which is optional, you can update at any time, and pause autosaving). You can withdraw any of your goals at any time, just keep in mind it will take a few business days for the funds to move over back into your bank account. I’ve been using for years now and I love, love it. I use digit for EVERY financial goal that I have, be it putting away money for my yearly car registration, or a vacation, or paying off a credit card.
Click here to join Digit and you will earn $5 (referral link): https://digit.co/r/bydZVFxgYX?wn