Medically reviewed by Dr. Michael Nodland, OD · Updated August 2026
Call (561) 799-3932 or book an appointment.
Eye Expressions accepts Medicare, VSP, EyeMed, Humana, Aetna, Anthem, Blue View Vision, MetLife, Superior Vision, Davis Vision and Advantica. When your appointment is booked in advance, we check your benefits and send you an estimated copay, so you know roughly what you owe before you walk in — not after.
Plan networks vary — being covered by a carrier is not the same as your specific plan being one we are contracted with. Call (561) 799-3932 with your card and we will check before you come in.
If anything changes during your exam, we tell you before we do it. This page explains which plan pays for what, so you can match the coverage to the visit before you book. If you are not sure which visit you need, the services page lists everything we do and how each one is billed.
Which insurance plans does Eye Expressions accept?
Eye Expressions accepts eleven carriers: Medicare, VSP, EyeMed, Humana, Aetna, Anthem, Blue View Vision, MetLife, Superior Vision, Davis Vision and Advantica. Several of those companies sell both vision plans and medical plans, so the column that matters is not the carrier’s name but which product line your card belongs to.
| Carrier | Product line | What it typically pays for here |
|---|---|---|
| Medicare | Medical | Medically necessary eye care — diabetic retinopathy screening, glaucoma testing for high-risk patients, cataract evaluation and post-operative care. Not routine refraction. |
| VSP | Vision | Routine exam plus an allowance toward glasses or contact lenses |
| EyeMed | Vision | Routine exam plus an eyewear or contact lens allowance |
| Superior Vision | Vision | Routine exam plus an eyewear or contact lens allowance |
| Davis Vision | Vision | Routine exam plus an eyewear or contact lens allowance |
| Advantica | Vision | Routine exam plus an eyewear or contact lens allowance |
| Blue View Vision | Vision | Anthem’s vision product — routine exam plus an eyewear allowance |
| MetLife | Vision | MetLife sells both, but the plans we see here are its vision product |
| Aetna | Vision or medical | Aetna sells both. Which applies to you depends on the card you hold |
| Humana | Vision or medical | Humana sells both, including Medicare Advantage products |
| Anthem | Vision or medical | Anthem sells both, and its vision product is branded Blue View Vision |
Plan networks vary — being covered by a carrier is not the same as your specific plan being one we are contracted with. Call (561) 799-3932 with your card and we will check before you come in.
Don’t see yours? Call (561) 799-3932 with your card anyway. Plans change, and the list is reviewed at least once a year.
What is the difference between a vision plan and medical insurance?
A vision plan is a benefits plan that covers routine eye exams, glasses and contact lenses. Medical insurance covers eye conditions — infections, injuries, dry eye, glaucoma and diabetic eye disease. They are separate types of coverage, they are bought separately, and most patients have both without realizing the difference matters until a claim is filed.
Which one gets billed depends on why you’re coming in, not on what you booked.
| Vision plan | Medical insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A benefits plan bought for routine eye care | Health insurance, including Medicare Part B |
| Covers | Routine eye exam, glasses, contact lenses | Eye conditions, injuries, disease |
| Typical examples | Annual check-up, new prescription, contact lens fitting | Red eye, dry eye, glaucoma, diabetic exam, floaters |
| You pay | Plan copay plus any amount over your frames or lens allowance | Your regular medical copay or deductible |
| Billed as | A benefit | A medical claim |
| Renews | Usually once a year, often on a calendar year | On your medical plan year, with a deductible that resets |
| What decides it | You came in for vision and eyewear, and nothing medical was found | You came in for an eye problem, or one was found during a routine exam |
This table deliberately does not sort our eleven carriers into the two columns, because four of them — MetLife, Aetna, Humana and Anthem — sell both product lines, and which one applies to you depends on the card in your wallet rather than the name on it. The carrier table further up the page is the place that question is answered, as far as it can be answered today. Call (561) 799-3932 with your card and we will tell you which column your visit falls into.
This is the full version of that comparison. Other pages on the site summarize it in a sentence or two and link back here.
Two examples we see every week
You booked a routine exam, but you woke up with a red eye. That’s a medical visit. Your vision plan can’t be billed for it, so we use your medical insurance instead. Once it’s settled, you come back for the glasses part.
You came in for new glasses, but you have severe dry eye. We treat that first — dry eye treatment is a medical visit, not a vision one. An accurate prescription isn’t possible on an unstable eye surface: measure it while the eye is inflamed and the glasses won’t work properly a month later. So we address the medical issue, then get the prescription right.
Neither is an extra visit for its own sake. It’s how you end up with a prescription that actually works.
What does a vision plan usually cover?
Most vision plans cover one comprehensive eye exam per year plus an allowance toward either glasses or contact lenses — not usually both. A comprehensive eye exam at Eye Expressions is the visit that vision plans are built for. Contact lens fittings are commonly billed separately from the exam, because fitting a lens to the surface of your eye is a different procedure from measuring your prescription.
Allowances and copays differ between plans from the same carrier, which is why we check yours before you arrive.
What does medical insurance cover at an eye doctor?
Medical insurance covers any visit where you’re being seen for a specific eye problem rather than a routine check. At Eye Expressions that includes:
- Red eye, irritation or discharge — infections, allergies, inflammation
- Eye injuries and foreign bodies — see emergency and urgent eye care, and call rather than book online
- Dry eye — diagnosis, treatment and follow-up
- Glaucoma — testing, monitoring and management
- Diabetic eye exams — annual retinopathy screening
- Macular degeneration — monitoring and management
- Sudden vision changes, flashes or floaters — evaluation and, where needed, referral
- Cataract co-management — evaluation before surgery and care afterwards
Does Medicare cover an eye exam?
Medicare Part B covers medically necessary eye care but not routine vision care. It covers diabetic retinopathy screening, glaucoma testing for patients at high risk, cataract evaluation and post-operative care. It does not cover routine refraction — the part of the exam that determines your glasses prescription — which is billed separately.
How much does an eye exam cost without insurance?
If you are paying for yourself, a comprehensive eye exam at Eye Expressions is $179, and optomap ultra-widefield retinal imaging is included in that price rather than sold as an add-on — Dr. Nodland considers it worth doing on every comprehensive exam. For most patients it also means an exam without dilating drops, though dilation is still used when a closer look is needed and he tells you beforehand. What the imaging shows is explained on the comprehensive eye exam page.
If you are using insurance, the copay for the optomap image is never more than $39.
An emergency or urgent visit is also $179 — the same as a routine eye exam, so you are not charged more for needing to be seen urgently. Follow-up for an urgent problem is included. If Dr. Nodland prescribes something, it is called in to your pharmacy.
| Visit | What you pay |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive eye exam, self-pay | $179, optomap included |
| Emergency or urgent visit, self-pay | $179 |
| Follow-up for an urgent problem | Included |
| optomap when you are using insurance | Copay never more than $39 |
Those are the fees for the visit itself. Glasses, contact lenses and contact lens fittings are priced separately, and what you pay toward them depends on your plan’s allowance. Plan networks vary — being covered by a carrier is not the same as your specific plan being one we are contracted with. Call (561) 799-3932 with your card and we will check before you come in.
New to Palm Beach Gardens for the season?
If you spend part of the year in Palm Beach Gardens, your vision plan and your medical insurance follow you — but the network you were in up north may not be the network here. Call (561) 799-3932 with your card before you travel down and we will check it against our contracts. More on how a season’s care fits together is on the seasonal resident eye care page.
Frequently asked questions
Will I know what I owe before my appointment? Yes, when the appointment is booked in advance — that is what gives us time to do it. We check your benefits ahead of the day and send you an estimated copay. If anything changes during the exam — for example if we find something that needs medical attention — we tell you before we go ahead.
I have an eye problem, not a routine check. How should I book? Call (561) 799-3932 rather than booking a routine slot online. Red eye, injury, sudden vision change, flashes or floaters are medical visits. They are billed differently and booked as a different visit type, and the online scheduler only offers routine slots — see emergency and urgent eye care.
Why was my visit billed to medical insurance when I came in for glasses? Because what we found during the exam needed medical attention. Vision plans only cover routine care — once there’s a condition to diagnose or treat, that part of the visit becomes a medical claim. We’ll always tell you before this happens.
Is the retinal imaging an extra charge? No. optomap ultra-widefield retinal imaging is included in the $179 self-pay comprehensive eye exam rather than sold as an add-on. If you are using insurance, there is a copay for it and it is never more than $39.
Can I use my vision plan and my medical insurance in the same visit? Bring both cards, because a single visit can involve both kinds of care. For a visit booked in advance, we check your benefits beforehand and send you an estimated copay based on what you have booked. If a medical problem is found during a routine exam, that part of the visit becomes a medical claim rather than a vision-plan benefit — and Dr. Nodland tells you before that happens, not afterwards. How the two claims are then submitted depends on your specific plans, so call (561) 799-3932 with both cards and we will tell you what to expect.
Please verify your coverage before your visit. Eye Expressions accepts Medicare, VSP, EyeMed, Humana, Aetna, Anthem, Blue View Vision, MetLife, Superior Vision, Davis Vision and Advantica. Plan networks vary — being covered by a carrier is not the same as your specific plan being one we are contracted with. Copays, allowances and what’s covered depend on your individual plan and can change year to year. Call (561) 799-3932 with your insurance card and we will check before you come in. New here? The new patient page covers what to bring and what to expect.
Ready to book? Book online or call (561) 799-3932. Eye Expressions · 7100 Fairway Drive, Suite 39, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 — on Fairway Drive just off PGA Boulevard, with parking at the door. Hours: Monday–Friday 10am–6pm. The optical is open Saturday 9am–2pm, so you can browse frames, collect an order or get an adjustment; Dr. Nodland does not hold regular Saturday exam hours, and the online scheduler does not offer Saturday, so a Saturday exam has to be requested by phone on (561) 799-3932. Sunday closed. Family-owned since 2010. 5.0 stars from around 500 Google reviews.