To our valued patients,

We would like to announce that effective 1/1/2026, we will be out-of-network with all vision plans, including VSP. VSP and other vision benefit plans, also known as “vision insurance”, have become incompatible with small, independent private practices. They offer misleading coverage to their members as they are not “insurance plans” but discount or savings plans. Additionally, they offer very low reimbursement rates for their in-network providers. In fact, VSP has not increased their provider reimbursement since the 1990s. Low reimbursement rates then result in offices focusing primarily on seeing a high volume of patients and artificially inflating prices to make up for what is lost to VSP in order to keep up with cost of goods and cost of paying employees a fair wage. By dropping VSP we will be able to lower prices in our optical and can still maintain our thorough, personalized exams. 

As an alternative, we have begun to offer our own in-house vision plan, or direct care plan, called KFE Direct. These plans range from discounts for eyewear only to discounts for eyewear, contacts, and a comprehensive exam. All plans that cover the comprehensive exam include widefield retina photos and a central retina scan.

As a reminder, we will still be in-network with Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield/Blue Care Network, Priority Health, and UnitedHealth commercial and Medicare advantage plans, Healthsmart, and ASR insurances. We will maintain the ability to submit your annual eye exams to your medical insurance if there is any medical condition with the potential to affect vision, such as diabetes, cataracts, dry eye. 

If you do continue with VSP coverage in 2026 and wish to keep us as your eyecare provider, we will still see VSP members in an out-of-network capacity. VSP does reimburse members directly after they submit out-of-network claims, but out-of-network benefits vary and would be the member’s responsibility to verify. 

Please contact us if you have any questions or would like any clarification on the information provided. We have an FAQ on our website to answer your most common questions regarding us leaving the VSP network. If you would like more information about our KFE Direct Plans, please visit our website.

We thank you for your understanding,

David King, OD and Isabel King, OD