Our examination procedures

You are treated here as an individual, not just another patient, regardless of the reason for your visit.

For what we term a complete examination, this personal care begins with the technical portion, performed by a qualified technician or assistant. He or she will check vision, eye movement, possible changes in glasses, will test pressure for signs of glaucoma, and will apply drops for dilation of the eyes as needed.

You will be taken to a special area for a wait of 15-30 minutes while the dilating drops take effect.

Your medical consultation follows in the doctor’s examination room. Here the doctor will further examine your eyes for disorders such as cataracts, cornea or retina problems, will explain the results, and give instructions for future care.

If the exam indicates the need for documenting a particular condition, or additional testing, the necessary tests will be ordered by the doctor and then performed by one of our technicians on that day or will be scheduled for another day.

These procedures may vary somewhat if you have been referred for special examination because of a specific problem or disorder.

If surgery is indicated, the options will be explained in detail. A member of our surgery scheduling department will visit with you to make plans and answer any additional questions you may have.

Emergencies

During regular office hours you can call our Bettendorf, Rock Island, Silvis or Geneseo office to get an appointment for treatment. After hours and on week-ends, our on-call ophthalmologist or optometrist can be reached by calling our 24-hr emergency number 563-328-5103. Our answering service will page the doctor on call. All calls will be returned promptly. If a patient has a critical injury to the eye or sudden loss of vision, they should proceed directly to Genesis Medical Center (Iowa) of Trinity Medical Center (Illinois) emergency room where they can be met by our physician on call.

Prescription Refills

Medication refills may be handled over the telephone between the hours of 8:00am and 5:00 pm Monday through Thursday and 8:00am – 12:00 pm on Friday. Calls received after 4:00pm (M-Th) and 11:00am (F) may be returned the next business day.

Completion of forms and medical records requests

Completing forms and copying medical records for purposes other than provision of health care and filing health care claims are not services covered by your health insurance benefits. In order to recover our cost for the provision of these professional and clinical services we do require payment for these services. Payment for these services will be collected prior to us completing the form. Please allow 7 to 10 business days for processing.

Medicare Part B coverage

We are participating providers for Medicare Part B and accept assignment for Medicare as payment for our fees. We will also file your supplemental insurance claims. Any non-covered services such as refractions and prisms are the responsibility of the patient and payment for those services are due at the time of service. Medicare does not cover glasses or contact lenses except for an approved allowance following cataract surgery.

Corporate Insurance Plans

Eye Surgeons Associates participates with many insurance plans including but not limited to the following:

• UnitedHealthcare of the River Valley (formerly John Deere Health)
• Medicare of Iowa/Illinois
• Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Iowa
• UnitedHealthcare
• Principal
• Aetna
• Integrated Health Partners
• Health Alliance

Eye Surgeons Associates also accepts the following Vision Plans:

• Avesis
• Eye Associate Network
• Spectera
• Vision Service Plan – VSP

Please check with your insurance company prior to making your appointment to ensure you schedule with a doctor on your insurance plan. Our office is not responsible for knowing your individual plan. Our Patient Accounts Representatives can answer any questions regarding insurance or vision plans. Please keep us updated concerning your coverage by always bringing your insurance card to each visit.

Private Insurance

As a courtesy we will file your primary and secondary insurance claims for you. If we do not participate with your insurance, we will ask for payment at the time of service unless prior arrangements are made with our Patient Accounts Department. Our Patient Accounts Representatives can be reached in Bettendorf at (563) 323-2020, Rock Island (309) 793-2020 or Silvis (309) 792-2020 to answer any of your billing or insurance questions.

Workers Compensation claims

Work injuries must be reported to the employer and the patient must secure approval to be treated as a worker’s compensation visit. Our Patient Accounts Representatives will obtain specific information from the patient and send the claim to the employer.

Payment for office services

Co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles are the financial responsibility of the patient. Co-payments are to be paid at the time of service. If you do not pay your co-payment at the time of services, a $5 statement fee will be charged.

If you have a high deductible insurance plan, your deductible is to be paid at the time of service. We do bill according to insurance company fee schedules for several plans, any overpayment will be refunded in a timely manner.

Payment for surgical procedures

We do expect payment for co-payments, co-insurance and deductible prior to your surgery date. After your surgery is scheduled a Patient Accounts Representative will call your insurance company to verify eligibility, co-insurance and deductible amounts. They will then get an estimated amount due. Any additional services provided will be collected after the insurance has been processed.

Billing statements

Our office sends out monthly billing statements. If we have filed your insurance for you, we will allow 30 days after your insurance has paid for the balance to be paid in full unless payment arrangements have been made with our Patient Accounts department. All balances over 30 days after insurance processing will incur a finance charge of 9% APR.