Over the years managed health care as become ridiculously more expensive every passing year. Funny how the costs for providing healthcare have jumped annually by 10-20%! I think its time we analyze these insurance companies along with their lobbyist groups and Congress. I’ver never heard of a poor politician nor a struggling health insurance company. But I hear about job loss in this country, uninsured citizens, and doctors losing their practices because they can no longer afford to stay in business due to the current insurance reimbursement rates. Just think if we eliminated the third party insurance and rekindled the direct patient to doctor relationship! The cost of healthcare would go down significantly because it would be one less party with their “hand out”. It has now gotten to the point where doctors can’t afford to practice medicine and are now being dictated on how they practice medicine because insurance won’t pay for certain forms of treatment and management. Congress passes laws that favor these insurance businesses to make large profits while filling the politicans pockets through their lobbyist efforts. Enough is enough! it’s time the American people take back our freedom and right to choose where we want to do business (including healthcare) and not be controlled or forced through businesses like insurance the way we have since the 70′s! Support your private practice/mom&pop businesses in this great counry of ours as “corporate america” doesn’t care about your ability to pay your bills and live freely in this coutry. All they care about is their profit margins and shipping jobs over to China because labor is cheaper hence a better profit! Wake-up America, the insurance companies, the Wal Marts, the Cosco’s, the Old Navy’s etc., etc . don’t care about you, your family or the community you live in! Support “small business” and in the end your supporting yourself, your family, and your community. This ultimately circles back to you when you support the community you live in and not the lavish lifestyle of the executive officers who own and run corporate america. This is how we, the people, get our country back! Thanks for reading as I hope it’s been an eye opener for you.

When buying any product as a consumer, all consumers know the old saying “you get what you pay for”.  Well the same holds true with ophthalmic products like glasses.  Consumers tend to have a misconception about private practice being “expensive” for product when in actuality the private practice setting usually offers better quality products for purchase vs. bargain price products since the quality isn’t there.   The big warehouse stores (corporate stores) carry product that is either discontinued for lower pricing and/or offer ophthalmic lenses that are very basic, plastic, glare causing lenses.  This “foot-in-the-door” technique draws the consumer to their location only to have a “bait-and-switch” tactic pulled on them with a more expensive lens and frame product that is double if not triple the original advertised price.  Private practice doesn’t waste time with such tactics as we offer the better quality, newer technology products right from the start especially when insurance covers a greater portion of the these better products.  My point is support private practice and it’s “small business” and not the big warehouse stores that only look at volume and not customer service nor quality of care.   The one-on-one personal care you get with private practice outweighs the extra cost that may fractionally result when one compares “apples-to-apples” in the type of similar product sold at corporate store locations.  It’s the little “mom and pop stores” that once made this country great and what it used to be before corporate america took over and started shipping our jobs overseas for cheaper labor.  Know where your dollars go and support your “local”, small business when you buy as this is more important than ever in allowing this country to survive and prosper! 

Thanks for reading,

Concerned American

It’s that time of the year again…holiday shopping and happy new year celebrating!  Happy New Year? Yes, we’ve come to the final month of the year yet again as we get ready to celebrate the new year of 2011!  A friendly reminder to those with flexible spending accounts (FSA’s) or formerly known as “cafeteria plans” through your employer.  These are tax saving accounts that employees can utilize towards annual health-care related costs!  Unfortuntely, that money is forfeited at the end of the year if it isn’t spent.  We at Carlsson Family Eye Center are happy to help you use those funds before they expire.  For instance, how about a new pair of glasses for Dad, grandma, the kids, and/or even yourself.  The benefit of using these funds is to ”shelter” some of your gross income from annual income taxes through these government-approved tax shelter programs.  A specified amount through your HR department would be allocated from your payroll annually in order to exercise such a tax saving program.  You can even use these funds towards new Rx sun glasses!  If not this year, plan for next year by budgeting money for health-related costs from your payroll into this type of account to cover medical office visits, dental care and even eyecare visits, which includes eyecare products such as contacts and/or glasses.  So talk to your accountant and/or HR department to learn more about flexible spending accounts and how you can save on anticipated health-related family expenses for 2011!  Otherwise, if you already have one; use it or lose it before the end of 2010! 

Happy Holidays, and thanks for reading,

Chad A. Carlsson, OD, FAAO

The advancements in today’s technology with contact lenses has opened many doors that were otherwise “closed” to certain populations of people in the past.  In past generations, most patients started wearing contacts during their teenage years well into their early thirties and then stopped wearing after settling down and starting a family.  Others kept wearing them into their 40′s and sometimes 50′s but had to wear “readers” over them for their near demands.  And still others utilized monovision with contacts in order to give a patient distance vision and near vision without the need for readers.  However, this concept usually only lasts so long before they had to resort to the readers over their ”distance-only” contacts if not give up on contacts all together.

Well (drum roll please), now we have multifocal contact lenses that uses an aspheric design or simultaeous vision with the lenses.  In other words, it’s like a “Bull’s Eye” or “archery target” design to the lenses.  The center circle would be designed to focus light coming from near targets/ near demands, while the outer ring surrounding it would be designed to focus distance light for distance demands.  As a result, this gives the patient quality distance and near vision depending on the patient’s demand while using both eyes at the same time!  Wow, what a concept to be able to use your eyes together or binocularly for all your distance and near demands.  This has revolutionized contact lens wear for older adults that otherwise had to compromise their vision due to presbyopia (“over 40 eyes” ) when they wanted to wear contacts.  As a result, more and more “baby-boomers” are going back into contact lens wear and are getting their “before 40″ vision back without resorting to “Readers” and/or utilizing monovision.

I encourage you to try multifocals for those in this age group who would like to get their distance and near vision back without having  to compromise their binocularity due to presbyopia (“over 40″ eyes).   This is a fun new option for patient’s that need this style of correction and especially for those that live a more active lifestyle!  Please go to www.cibavision.com for more information on these new life changing contact lenses.

Thanks for Reading,

Chad A. Carlsson, OD, FAAO

Did you realize that a contact lens is considered a medical device by the FDA and as a result, is closely monitored by the FDA.   Usage of such a product requires a license to prescribe this medical device to the consumer.  Too many consumers get caught up in the lowest price or inexpensive purchase of contact lenses.  I don’t blame the consumer for looking for lowest pricing, but is that the best deal?  As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for” is another way of saying lowest price isn’t always the best deal.  Buying from “Big Box” wharehouse stores (need I say who) offer low prices, but do they offer the customer service and attention to detail that a local private practice offers?  You’d be surprised, but private practice offers very similar pricing for contact lens purchases when one considers volume pricing, vision plan allowances, and contact lens rebates (offered by vendors to encourage annual supplies).  Private practice offers the attention to detail and customer service one deserves when ordering a medical device to use on one’s eyes.  Support your LOCAL, private practice and not some big corporate company that is located everywhere besides your town.   Remember, “small businesses” are the heart and soul of America’s economy!  We need to remember this in such a trying economy when jobs are scarce and small businesses are failing.  Please keep local, small business in mind when buying any product as we are the driving force of this economy.  If we cease to exist, corporate America wins and those low prices eventually go up! 

Thanks for Reading,

Concerned American Citizen