Public Employee Press

Benefit expands to 325 eyeglass providers

The union is doubling the number of panelists for its vision benefit, which will make it more convenient for members to schedule eye exams and get eyeglasses.

Beginning in February, the DC 37 Health and Security Plan will expand the number of participating optical providers in the vision program from 165 to 325. The expansion results from adding a major vendor, General Vision Services, to the vendors that work with the plan.

“Expanding our list of participating providers will dramatically improve access to vision care for our members and retirees,” said Cynthia Chin-Marshall, administrator of the DC 37 plan.

The improvement comes at no cost to members or the plan.

List of providers
The DC 37 Health and Security Plan will provide members and retirees with the list of participating providers when they call 212-815-1234 to request the voucher for their standard optical benefit. The list will also be posted on the union’s Web site, www.dc37.net.

The packet contains a description of the benefit and a “Personal Eye History Form” that members should bring to their appointment.

Every two years, eligible members and retirees, as well as their spouses anddependents, are entitled to the plan’s comprehensive standard optical benefit. The benefit includes eye examinations and, if needed, eyeglass frames and lenses. Every year, covered participants may also request a supplemental benefit, available only at the Vision Center at 115 Chambers St. in Manhattan, for eye examinations and lenses (if required).

Except in Florida and Georgia, thevision benefit does not include a co-payment. But members who do not use a participating provider or the Vision Center for services and eyeglasses need to submit a claim to be reimbursed according to the plan’s fee schedule.

Besides GVS, the plan’s vendors include Vision Screening Inc., Comprehensive Professional Services and Empire Vision, which serves members who live and work upstate.

The DC 37 vision benefit includes testing for cataracts, glaucoma and detached retinas, in addition to special care fordiabetics.

VDT benefit
The plan’s participating providers may determine that additional testing is needed to address other conditions or complaints from patients. When tests and treatment are not covered by the standard union benefit, the participating providers generally advise participants to use their health plan for testing and treatment.

Some DC 37 members are eligible, depending on their job titles, for a VDT benefit because they spend a lot of time at the computer.

For information, they should call the DC 37 Health and Security Plan at 212-815-1234 and request a voucher, which must be approved by their supervisor. It is important to remember that the VDT benefit must be used in conjunction with the standard optical benefit.