Unless you are a sneaky 7 year old or a college freshman desperately trying to stretch things out until the holiday break, I am willing to bet that most of our readership changes their underwear daily. What in the world does this have to do with contact lenses, you ask? Sometimes I resort to this vivid analogy to get the point across about the importance of proper contact lens hygiene. After that great ‘ah-ha’ acknowledgement sigh, we can now have the intelligent discussion about daily disposables…
There are only two reasons patients have objected to daily disposable contacts in the past: 1) Cost and 2) Rx limitations. With respect to the later, technology advances have expanded the parameter availability in regular, multi-focal, and astigmatism versions of single use contacts to cover over 95% of our patients needs.
With respect to the cost, I love addressing this pink elephant in the room head on. YES, they are more expensive, BUT they don’t necessarily cost more overall… How? Simple math: Your typical year supply of contacts comes in around $250-$280 (*Without insurance allowance). A year supply of dailies is usually $300 more than their conventional counterparts. BUT… and this is so important… there are $200 rebates AND you don’t have to buy solutions and cases throughout the year. Cleaning supplies average $10/month. So, when you factor in the rebate and the solution costs, I will make a very strong argument that single use contacts, over the course of a year, will be right on par with ‘regular’ lenses.
Understanding this ‘financial wash’, you can now have the added convenience of a thinner, healthier, and STERILE contact lens each morning with no maintenance or cleaning to fuss with. WIN-WIN!
Email me to see if your prescription is eligible for a daily disposable upgrade.
