By Don Railsback, CEO, Vision Care Direct
In January 2013, I delivered a presentation to a group of Optometric Physician Associations titled “Cook or Be Cooked.” It ran just 20 minutes, 34 slides in all, but its message was simple: the ground beneath optometry was shifting.
I covered topics like the rise of online optical retailers, the growth of national chains, the influence of venture capital, and how corporate, insurance-based vision plans were pricing themselves low, not to benefit patients, but to drive them into their own retail stores.
I wasn’t trying to scare anyone. I was trying to prepare us.
The goal was to help optometrists recognize the market forces at play and take proactive steps to protect their practices, their patients, and the profession. We needed to create a better, more sustainable alternative, one that respected doctors, elevated patient care, and pushed back against corporate control.
Fast forward to today, and we’re finally starting to see optometry waking up to that reality. Online forums are filled with frustrated doctors, state associations are backing legislation to limit the overreach of Vision Benefit Managers (VBMs), and even the AOA is urging Congress to take action.
The water in the pot has finally gotten hot enough and the frogs are starting to notice.
As a past president of the Kansas Optometric Association, I applaud the growing attention. But legislation alone won’t solve the real problem.
No amount of lobbying will force corporate vision plans to treat providers with respect. These companies have teams of lawyers ready to craft contracts that bypass every new regulation. And they would rather spend money fighting compliance than fairly compensating doctors.
Here’s the hard truth:
As long as we keep believing that we have to participate in these plans, we are handing them the power to control our profession.
Every time you join a vision plan, you are endorsing it, whether you like it or not. And corporate vision plans are happy to use your participation to gain market share while quietly shifting patients to their own retail chains through aggressive marketing, discounts, and incentives.
We’ve seen the playbook. We know how it ends.
But here’s the good news: You are not powerless. You have more control than you think.
Across the country, more and more doctors are choosing to opt out of plans that exploit them. They’re discovering that they can survive, and even flourish without being beholden to a plan that doesn’t serve them or their patients.
When providers align with plans that value them and their patients, employers take notice. And when employers choose those plans, everyone wins.
A good vision plan should benefit both the provider and the patient. It should drive care to independent offices, not away from them. It should empower you to invest in your staff, technology, education, and clinical excellence, not squeeze you to the brink.
That’s why, even a decade before that 2013 meeting, a small group of forward-thinking optometrists along with a few industry allies came together to build a better vision plan.
They believed:
- Doctors should never be forced to use a specific lab or materials vendor.
- Reimbursement should be fair and sustainable.
- Members should receive meaningful benefits, not discounts wrapped in red tape.
- Provider agreements should be transparent and straightforward.
- Plan administrators should be accessible, responsive, and aligned with doctors’ needs.
That plan became Vision Care Direct, built by doctors, for doctors, and focused on putting care back in vision care.
As a provider-owned alternative, Vision Care Direct removes the insurance middleman from the equation. We’re not here to chase profits at your expense. We’re here to help you deliver outstanding care and build thriving practices.
Legislative efforts, contract education, and advocacy are all important. But if you’re looking for the fastest way to make a difference, it starts with you.
Recognize that you do have a choice. And choose differently.
Vision Care Direct is here to work for you, to help restore balance, sanity, and fairness to the vision benefits market. If you’re ready to stop working for the plan and start working with a partner who truly supports you, let’s talk.
Don Railsback
CEO, Vision Care Direct
don.railsback@visioncaredirect.com