Darin Weidauer, licensed insurance agent · NPN 18580338National number (424) 295-0627 · darinweidauer@ecos.care
Supplemental Coverage

Vision Insurance You Can Buy on Its Own

Original Medicare pays for no routine eye exam for glasses, no eyeglasses and no contact lenses. This is a vision plan in its own right — it does not attach to a dental policy, and you do not have to buy dental to get it.

Price it and buy it yourself Call (424) 295-0627
Buy it yourself

You can price this and buy it today, without us

The link below goes straight to the company’s own enrollment page, already set to this agency. It answers the two questions this page cannot — whether the plan is sold in your state, and what it would cost at your age — and you can enroll there and then if you like what you see. It takes a couple of minutes.

NCD, underwritten by VSP Vision CareSee your price and apply

Nothing changes for you if you would rather we did it with you: the price is the same either way, because our commission is paid out of the company’s filed rate whichever route you take. Call (424) 295-0627 and we will sit and compare them with you. If you would rather know what the plans actually cover before you price anything, that is set out company by company further down.

Read this first

This is not Medicare, a Medicare Supplement policy or a Medicare Advantage plan. It is separate insurance with its own premium, its own rules and its own limits.

This plan pays toward an eye examination, frames, lenses and contact lenses against a schedule. It is not medical insurance and it does not pay for the treatment of eye disease.

Why people buy it

The problem it solves

Glasses are the health cost people most reliably underestimate, because they arrive every couple of years, cost a few hundred dollars each time, and never feel like a medical bill. Original Medicare does not cover the eye exam you have in order to get a prescription, and it does not cover the frames, the lenses or the contact lenses that follow it.

The exceptions are real and they are narrow, and they are worth knowing before you buy anything. Medicare covers cataract surgery and, after it, one pair of eyeglasses with standard frames or one set of contact lenses. It covers an annual glaucoma screening if you are at high risk, and an annual eye exam for diabetic retinopathy. Those are treatments for eye conditions. None of them is coverage for the glasses you wear.

How it works

Three things happen, in this order

This one is not a rider on anything

Most of the vision coverage in this market, including the vision option on the dental policies on our dental page, attaches to a dental policy and cannot be bought without it. This plan is different: it is a vision plan you buy on its own, from a different company and a different underwriter. If glasses are the only thing you want covered, this is the one to look at.

Three companies are involved, and you should know all three now

NCD is the brand you enroll through. VSP Vision Care underwrites the plan. And it is an association plan, offered to members of the National Wellness and Fitness Association — so the premium includes an association fee, and the association is the same one our NCD accident plan runs through. A claim is a bad moment to meet one of those names for the first time.

You pay a copay, and the plan pays against an allowance

There is a copay for the exam and a copay for materials, and then the plan puts an allowance toward the frame and covers the standard lenses. Anything above the allowance, and most lens enhancements, you pay for — each enhancement has its own copay and they are published on this page. A progressive lens with an anti-glare coating is two of those copays, not one, and that is the number people get wrong.

Frames run on a different clock from lenses

Lenses come round every 12 months; the frame allowance every 24. If you like to change frames every year this plan will not do it for you. If you keep a frame and change the prescription, it fits the way you actually buy.

Contacts instead of glasses, not as well as

There is a contact lens allowance that covers the lenses and the fitting, and taking it replaces the frame and spectacle lens benefits for that period. The plan is explicit about what happens next, and it is on this page in the company's own words.

Honest fit

Who this suits, and who it does not

The second list matters more than the first. An agent who only writes the first one is selling, not advising.

Worth considering if…

  • You wear glasses or contacts, you are on Original Medicare, and nothing you hold pays anything toward them.
  • You want vision coverage and you do not want a dental policy attached to it.
  • Your prescription is stable and you replace lenses more often than frames.
  • You are not on Medicare at all — retired early, self-employed, or between jobs — and you lost the vision coverage you had at work.
  • You are already looking at our NCD dental or accident plans. It is the same enrollment link and the same association.

Probably not for you if…

  • You want medical coverage for an eye condition. This pays toward an exam, frames, lenses and contacts against a schedule. It is not medical insurance and it does not pay for the treatment of eye disease — that is what Part B is for.
  • Your Medicare Advantage plan already includes a vision allowance you do not use up. Paying a second premium for a benefit you will not reach is the most common way money is wasted in this corner of the market.
  • You want designer frames covered in full. There is an allowance and a 20% saving above it, and on an expensive frame you will still be paying most of it.
  • You are expecting the laser surgery discount to be insurance. It is a discount off somebody else's price, not a benefit the plan pays, and it is marked as such on this page.
Companies

Who we can place this with

Darin is appointed with each of these companies and can place coverage with any of them. We do not represent every insurer, and which company suits you depends on your age, your state, your health history and which benefits you actually want. Where a carrier's benefits are described on this page, those details come from that carrier's own current brochure.

NCD, underwritten by VSP Vision Care

VSP Preferred Plan by NCD

Every benefit below is transcribed from the NCD VSP Preferred Plan individual and family vision plan summary, dated 21 April 2026. Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

  • It is bought on its own, and it is an association plan Included

    This is a vision plan in its own right — it does not attach to a dental policy and you do not have to buy dental to get it. It is offered to members of the National Wellness and Fitness Association, and the premium includes the association fee.

    Three companies are involved and it is worth knowing all three before you claim: NCD is the brand you enroll through, VSP Vision Care underwrites the plan, and the association is the National Wellness and Fitness Association. It is the same association our NCD accident plan runs through.

  • Who it can cover Included

    Cover is written for a member on their own, a member and spouse, a member and child, or a family.

  • The copays Included

    $20 for the exam and $25 for materials, per covered person per office visit, every 12 months.

  • WellVision Exam Included

    An eye examination that focuses on your eyes and your overall wellness. $20 copay, every 12 months.

  • Frames Included

    A $220 allowance on featured frame brands, or a $200 allowance on frames generally, every 24 months, plus 20% savings on the amount over the allowance. The frame is part of the prescription glasses benefit and carries no separate copay beyond the $25 materials copay.

    Note the frequency: frames every 24 months, where lenses are every 12.

  • Lenses Included

    Single vision, lined bifocal and lined trifocal lenses every 12 months, and impact-resistant lenses for dependent children. Included in the prescription glasses benefit, so no copay beyond the $25 materials copay.

  • Lens enhancements, each with its own copay Included

    Progressive lenses, standard, premium or custom, $50. Anti-glare $41 to $85. Light-reactive lenses $75. Impact-resistant lenses $35. Scratch-resistant coating $17 to $33. Tinted lenses $15 to $17. UV protection $16. Other lens enhancements carry an average saving of 30%. Every 12 months.

    These are the lines that decide what a pair of glasses actually costs you. A progressive lens with anti-glare is the common combination and it is two copays, not one.

  • Contact lenses, instead of glasses Included

    A $150 allowance for contacts and the contact lens exam, fitting and evaluation, with no copay, every 12 months, plus 15% savings on the contact lens exam.

    Contact lenses are provided in lieu of the spectacle lens and frame benefits. Take the contacts and you become eligible for contact lenses or spectacle lenses again after 12 months, and for a frame after 12 months.

  • Discounts that are not insurance Included

    20% off additional glasses and sunglasses, including lens enhancements, from any VSP network doctor within 12 months of your last WellVision Exam. An average of 15% savings on the regular price of laser vision correction, or 5% savings on the promotional price, from contracted facilities.

    A discount is not a benefit. Nothing in this row is paid to you or to the doctor — it reduces a price you are still paying yourself.

Does this apply in your state?

This company's documents name no states at all. They say the products are not available in all states and leave it there, so we publish no availability claim for them in either direction — we are not going to guess, and a guess is what gets an application declined after you have filled it in.

Tell us your state and we will check it and send you the documents that apply to you. Call (424) 295-0627, or use the form at the bottom of this page. You can also check availability yourself on this company's own enrollment page — the links are at the top of this page and again in the costs section below.

Confirm this one before you sign

This does not appear in the sales brochure, and it changes what the policy is worth to you. Ask for it in writing, in the policy and the outline of coverage for your state, and do not take our word or anyone else's for it.

  • Everything the sheet does not say The plan summary we hold sets out what the plan pays and what each enhancement costs. It does not state an issue age, an underwriting question or a renewal term, so nothing about any of those is published here. Ask for the plan documents for your own state before you buy. Where the plan is written is a separate question and it is answered above.

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by VSP Vision Care

The VSP Preferred Plan by NCD is an association plan offered to members of the National Wellness and Fitness Association, which also provides top-tier discounts and benefits that will help you and your family stay physically strong.

Contact lenses are provided in lieu of spectacle lens and frame benefits. When contact lenses are utilized in lieu of spectacle lens and frame benefits, the member becomes eligible for contact lenses or spectacle lenses after 12 months and eligible for a frame after 12 months.

Products are not available in all states. Please call (800) 485-3855 to verify current state availability. Underwritten by VSP Vision Care.

Before you go further

If you want dental as well, it is a different policy

This plan covers eyes and nothing else. The dental policies we place are separate contracts from other companies, and one of them offers vision and hearing as options bolted onto the dental coverage. Holding both is perfectly normal; just be clear that it is two premiums and two policies, and that the vision option on a dental policy is not this plan.

See our dental insurance page

What it costs

Price it yourself, for your own state

We publish no price for this, on purpose. What you pay turns on your age, the state you live in, which plan you choose, the annual maximum and deductible that come with it, and whether you add vision, hearing or both where the policy offers them — so any single figure printed here would be wrong for almost everyone reading it. The links below are not brochures. Each one goes straight to the company, already set to this agency, and answers both of the questions this page cannot: whether the plan is written in your state, and what it would cost you. It takes a couple of minutes, and you can enroll there and then if you like what you see.

NCD, underwritten by VSP Vision CareSee your price and apply

You are under no obligation to buy through a link, and nothing changes for you if you would rather we did it with you — the price is the same either way, and our commission is paid out of the company's filed rate whichever route you take. Call (424) 295-0627 and we will sit and compare them with you.

Where we can place it

Availability in your state

Insurance is regulated state by state. A company may file a benefit in one state and not in another, which is a large part of why working with more than one company matters.

Availability by state, in full

The right-hand column lists what is not offered in that state by any company whose benefits are published on this page. We are appointed with other companies in this family as well — where something is withheld here, ask, and we will check them for you.

StatePublished benefits not offered there
ArizonaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
CaliforniaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
ColoradoNone — everything on this page can be placed here
FloridaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
GeorgiaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
HawaiiNone — everything on this page can be placed here
IndianaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
MinnesotaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
NevadaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
New MexicoNone — everything on this page can be placed here
North CarolinaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
OhioNone — everything on this page can be placed here
South CarolinaNone — everything on this page can be placed here
TennesseeNone — everything on this page can be placed here
TexasNone — everything on this page can be placed here
UtahNone — everything on this page can be placed here
WashingtonNone — everything on this page can be placed here

ECOS is licensed in seventeen states. Medicare guides: Arizona · California · Colorado · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Indiana · Minnesota · Nevada · New Mexico · North Carolina · Ohio · South Carolina · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Washington.

Straight answers

Questions people actually ask

Do I have to buy dental to get this?

No, and that is the point of it. The vision option on the dental policies we write does attach to a dental policy — this plan does not. It is bought on its own, and our dental page says so too, because for years the honest answer here was that no vision-only plan existed. It does now.

Who actually insures it?

VSP Vision Care underwrites the plan. NCD is the brand you enroll through, and the plan is offered to members of the National Wellness and Fitness Association, whose fee is included in the premium. All three names appear on the plan documents and all three are on this page.

Does Medicare cover my glasses at all?

Only after cataract surgery that implants an intraocular lens, when Part B helps pay for one pair of eyeglasses with standard frames or one set of contact lenses. That is an exception tied to the surgery and it does not repeat with each new prescription. Routine eye exams for glasses, frames and lenses are not covered.

Can I use my own optometrist?

The plan runs on the VSP network, and the discounts are stated as being from a VSP network doctor. Ask us to check whether the practice you use is in it before you buy — that is a two-minute question and it is worth asking first rather than at the appointment.

What will it cost me?

We do not publish a price, and that is deliberate rather than coy. The plan is written differently in different states and what you pay turns on who is on it with you, so any single figure printed here would be wrong for a lot of people reading it. The link in the costs section goes straight to the company, already set to this agency, and prices your own situation in a couple of minutes — it is the same link that prices our NCD dental and accident plans.

The figures below — do they apply in my state?

Check that with us before you rely on them. The plan summary we hold carries no state edition and no state list; what it carries is a line saying products are not available in all states and that the company should be called to check. That is not the same as a list, so we publish no availability claim either way. Ask us and we will get the plan documents for your own state.

Ask for a quote on Vision Insurance

Tell us how to reach you and which state you are in. A licensed agent calls back, usually the same business day, and will tell you plainly if you already have coverage that makes this unnecessary.

ECOS Medicare Solutions is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. This is a solicitation of insurance. A licensed insurance agent may contact you.

Know someone who needs this?

Somebody you know is paying for this out of pocket right now, or has been told it is not worth having. Send them the page, not the sales pitch.

Other coverage that pays you cash

Hospital Indemnity Insurance

Pays you a fixed cash amount for each day you spend in hospital, whatever your other coverage pays. Most often bought to cover the daily co-pays a Medicare Advantage plan leaves behind.

Worth a look if your Medicare Advantage plan charges a per-day inpatient co-pay.

Accident Insurance

Cash toward what an accident actually costs — the emergency room, the ambulance, the nights in hospital — paid on top of whatever your health plan pays.

Worth a look if your health plan has a deductible a single emergency room visit would blow through.

Cancer and Critical Illness Insurance

Pays a lump sum in cash on diagnosis, to spend on anything at all — co-pays, travel, a mortgage payment, time off work.

Worth a look if a diagnosis would cost you months of income as well as co-pays.

Cancer and Dread Disease Insurance

Pays toward the cost of cancer treatment line by line — chemotherapy, surgery, nights in hospital, the travel to get there — rather than one lump sum on diagnosis.

Worth a look if you want coverage that keeps paying through a long course of treatment.

Short-Term Home Health Care Insurance

Pays a daily cash benefit for care at home after an illness, injury or surgery, on the same trigger long-term care insurance uses but for a limited period.

Worth a look if you want coverage for the recovery weeks after surgery or a fall.

Short-Term Care Insurance

Pays a daily cash benefit for a stay in a nursing home, an assisted living facility or hospice — with care at home as a rider — for months rather than years, and it will take applicants up to 89.

Worth a look if long-term care insurance turned you down, or you are past the age most of the market will quote.

Dental Insurance

Coverage for the routine dental care Original Medicare does not pay for, with vision and hearing available as additions to the same policy.

Worth a look if dental work is coming and nothing is paying for it. Vision and hearing attach to the same policy.

All Supplemental Coverage · Medicare help in your state