Affording Dry Eye Care During Inflation

When I was first diagnosed with dry eye, I had no idea the mountain I was facing, physically, emotionally and financially.

What I didn't know about chronic dry eye

I think I was naive in thinking that my insurance would help me out with the costs that would be coming my way. That was until I scheduled my first dry eye consultation and found it insurance did not cover that sort of thing. I remember leaving the office and I had a long list of treatments that I needed to have. I thought to myself, I can’t afford to do this every couple months. When it was time it pick up my eye drops from the pharmacy, it was astounding to see how much the pharmaceutical company charged for these eye drops that I desperately needed to live and function a normal life. That was the start of my research on how affording this care could even be possible.

Affording chronic dry eye treatment

I started with the pharmaceutical company itself and the manufacturer. I was surprised to see they had a small program that you could apply for to help getting your prescription paid for. To my surprise, a few of my dry eye prescriptions were heavily discounted through their program but it still wasn’t enough considering I had 3 eye drop prescriptions to get. That’s when I found out about prescription money savings cards. Sometimes it was hit or miss with what they covered but one of my other medications was covered with this. It was surprisingly easy to sign up for and get approved online and I have used them for the last two years with no problems. For some of my other dry eye treatments, I had to use savings in order to afford those treatments. That money runs out quickly and if I am being honest, I have had to utilize credit cards for certain treatments. Turns out this disease is not kind to the wallet nor to the person suffering from it.

Additional tips

Another way I found to save costs is being enrolled in clinical trials for treatment. I was included in a clinical trial a year ago and was able to get a few free IPL (intense pulse treatment) sessions, which saved me almost a thousand dollars. I was recommend asking your dry eye specialist if that is something they offer and take advantage of that if possible. When I had to travel out of state for my treatment, I was able to get a discount on hotels and stays if you told hotel staff that you were there for medical treatment. It wasn’t a huge amount of savings but every penny that can be saved helps a little. Sometimes the office will offer discounts when you pay all in cash or pay for your treatment up front. This can be a huge money saver because some offices offer a generous percentage off if you are able to pay cash.

I know that it’s not easy affording the care that is needed for dry eye but I hope that some of these tips can help you in saving some money. I know that is has been beneficial for me.