Bear in mind that some of the links on this website are affiliate links. If you go through them to make a purchase we will earn a commission at no extra cost to you but helps support our website. Keep in mind that we link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission we receive from your purchases.
The internet and technology have made it easier than ever to order prescription eyewear and contact lenses from the comfort of your home—no need to step foot in a store.
Today, many online retailers offer prescription glasses. Some carry top designer brands, while others manufacture their frames to cut costs for customers. The same goes for contact lenses, with several websites now offering a wide selection of prescription contacts.
Table of Contents
Order Contacts with Insurance Online
Buying prescription eyewear—especially contact lenses—can add up quickly, especially if you wear them daily. One of the best ways to save money is by using your vision insurance. If your plan includes benefits for contact lenses, you may be able to significantly reduce your out-of-pocket cost.
In the past, using insurance for contacts usually meant visiting a local optical shop. They’d collect your details, contact your insurance provider, and bill them directly, leaving you to pay any remaining balance.
But now, depending on your provider, you may be able to use your vision insurance online. That means fewer hassles, lower costs, and no in-person visits.
While researching the best places to buy contact lenses online, I came across a few retailers that accept vision insurance directly on their websites. Let’s take a closer look at each.
Eyeconic Eyewear
One of the retailers that I ran across in my research was Eyeconic Eyewear. They are an online eyewear retailer that is run and operated by vision insurance company Vision Service Plan (VSP).
Eyeconic was originally created originally as an online eyewear retail website exclusively for VSP members only but over the years their website as expanded and is no longer exclusive to its member. Today, as long as you reside within the United States you are able to purchase prescription glasses as well as contact lenses from their website.
For contact lenses, Eyeconic offers a majority of the most popular contact lens brands such as Acuvue, Air Optix, Biofinity, Proclear, and much more.
What Insurances Does Eyeconic Accept?
With Eyeconic you are able to use your vision insurance benefit to shop for your eyewear and have your vision insurance benefits directly applied to your order so you don’t have to pay a lot of money out-of-pocket. Eyeconic accepts the following insurance plans:
- VSP
- Metlife
- Cigna Vision
If you have any of those providers as your vision insurance provider, you can start saving today at Eyeconic.
CHECK YOUR BENEFITS AT EYECONIC
Contacts Direct
Another online contact lens retailer that accepts vision insurance is Contacts Direct. This website is owned and operated by Luxottica Group, whom you may know by some of their retail chains such as Lenscrafters, Sears Optical, JCPenny Optical, and much more.
Just like most online contact lens retailers, Contacts Direct offers the majority of the most popular contact lens brands that are currently available on the market. Contacts Direct does have one of the smallest selection of contacts compared to other retailers, but they carry most brands so it is worth it to at least check to see if they have your brand.
Contacts Direct gives you the ability to use your contact lens allowance to order your contact lenses right from your home.
What Insurances Does Contacts Direct Accept?
Just like Eyeconic, Contacts Direct has a couple of insurance providers that are in-network providers in which work directly with Contacts Direct. If your vision insurance provider is one of these in-network providers your benefits are automatically applied so you only pay the out-of-pocket expenses that your insurance doesn’t cover. Here are the in-network providers for Contacts Direct:
- EyeMed
- SuperiorVision
- Aetna
- Anthem BlueCross BlueShield
- Humana
Purchasing your contact lenses with one of these insurance plans is simple, you just find which contacts you are prescribed on Contacts Direct’s website, add them to your cart, and head to check out, It’s that simple.
CHECK YOUR BENEFITS AT CONTACTS DIRECT
Target Optical
Some people are surprised that Target even has an optical department. One of the reasons for that could be because they don’t have an optical center in every single Target retail store across the country. They do however have a pretty awesome website that offers all kinds of eyewear. You could even schedule your next eye exam at one of their locations right on their website if you wanted to.
You will be able to find the majority of the most popular brands of contact lenses that are currently available. Some of the contact lenses occasionally have promotions in which you could get instant savings for purchasing an annual supply.
What Insurances Does Target Optical Accept?
Target Optical actually has quite a list of insurances that are accepted on their website. Through their website, you can check your benefit eligibility, and you can apply your benefits directly to your order so you only have to pay the out-of-pocket expense. They save you the hassle of filling out a reimbursement form and having to wait for your insurance to send you a check back. Here are some of the insurances that are accepted:
- EyeMed
- Humana
- Aetna
- Blue View Vision
- Ameritas
- Anthem BlueCross BlueShield
- EmblemHealth
- SCAN Health Plan
- Health Net
- Tricare
- Envolve Vision (Health Net)
- Allways Health
There are many more insurances that Target Optical accepts on their website if you didn’t see your provider on that list don’t hesitate to still visit their website to see if you could find your benefits.
CHECK YOUR BENEFITS AT TARGET OPTICAL
Lenscrafters
I am sure most of you have heard of Lenscrafters, after all, they are one of Luxottica Group’s most well know retail brands. Often times you will find their retail locations in malls, but most people don’t know that they actually have a website as well. Just like Target Optical, Lenscrafters allows you to schedule eye exams at one of their locations right on their website, making it simple and convenient.
Once you have your prescription, or if you already have a prescription, you can search for your brand of contacts on Lenscrafters website. You will be able to find the majority of the most popular brands of contact lenses available here.
If you have vision insurance benefits you are able to apply your benefits directly to your order, only paying the out-of-pocket expense.
What Insurances Does Lenscrafters Accept?
Just like Target Optical, Lenscrafters has quite a large list of insurances that is accepted on their website. Lenscrafters actually basically accept all the same insurances that Target Optical accepts, I mean after all they have the same parent company so they are basically the same. Here are some of the insurances that Lenscrafters accepts:
- EyeMed
- Aetna
- Humana
- Blue View Vision
- Ameritas
- Anthem BlueCross BlueShield
- Tricare
- SCAN Health Plan
There are so many more that are accepted through Lenscrafters that I can’t possibly list them all there. Feel free to visit their website to check if your benefits are accepted.
CHECK YOUR BENEFITS AT LENSCRAFTERS
Flexible Spending (FSA) and Health Savings (HSA)
If you have a Flexible Spending Account or a Health Savings Account it really opens up many other options when it comes to purchasing your contacts online. It opens you up to retailers that offer more affordable prices on contact lenses such as AC Lens or Discount Contact Lenses.
If you are utilizing FSA or HSA, you are generally provided with a card that has a preloaded allowance that you will be able to use when you are placing your order as long as the card you have is affiliated with VISA or MasterCard. You will use it just like you would a normal credit card, and usually, the items that are eligible for FSA or HSA will automatically be paid for. If you purchased anything that isn’t eligible for FSA or HSA, you will still owe that balance. Things that are generally not eligible for FSA and HSA are things such as eyeglass cases, or cleaning cloths & solution.
Insurance Not Accepted Online
If you checked through those websites and you didn’t see your insurance provider listed on any of the websites don’t worry. You can still check with your vision insurance provider to see if your plan has out-of-network benefits.
If you do have out-of-network benefits you can still make your purchase at any online retailer of your choosing, get the itemized receipt, and submit to your insurance provider for reimbursement.
Final Thoughts
Thanks to the advancements in technology, you can now use your vision insurance to buy contact lenses online from the comfort of your own home. You no longer have to go and waste your time waiting around at your local retail store to purchase your contacts. All they do is gather all of your information and enter it all into a computer to place your contact lens order, something you can also do at home.
RELATED ARTICLES FROM EYE HEALTH HQ:
I had always been on the fearful side and trying to avoid buying lenses or contacts inline for fear of being sent a less standard ones and all. But seeing what has been shared here , I quite frankly value this now. It is almost time for me to change my contacts and this would be perfect to get online knowing fully well that I can insure thus. Thanks
Hello there! Thank you very much for sharing this article on order contacts with insurance online. I’ve gone through it and it’s a really good one as it is very detailed and contains valuable information. I find it very helpful. Getting my contacts from a local store was really hectic for me, I didn’t something like this was possible. Now I know of it, I’m going to use vision insurance to buy my contact lenses from now on, no stress just technology. Thank you
Thank you so much for sharing with us an excellent and informative article. I have always had vision insurance and always needed to go into a local shop that accepted my insurance to be able to take advantage of my benefits. Otherwise, I would’ve had to pay out of pocket and submit it in, and back in the day, it used to take 8 weeks for them to reimburse you!! Thanks again for the amazing article.