Vision Coverage for Your Whole Family in Boulder County
Boulder County blends the University of Colorado with a thriving outdoor tech industry — many residents are self-employed, freelance, or work for early-stage startups that don't offer vision benefits despite the county's high household income.
Covering a household means covering two groups the ACA treats differently. For most adults, vision coverage is a separate purchase from health insurance, because adult eye exams and glasses aren’t ACA essential health benefits. Boulder County residents shop for health plans on Connect for Health Colorado, and adult vision still has to be bought separately.
What Family Vision Plans Cover in Boulder County
Benefits on a family vision plan are counted person by person: each member has their own exam and their own frame or contact lens allowance for the year.
PremierVision, the plan Daniel places, uses the Spectera Eyecare Network (100,000+ access points) and includes a $0 exam copay, a $10 materials copay, a $150 frame allowance and a $200 contact lens allowance, glasses or contacts once every 12 months. The vision insurance guide has the full table.
Kids adapt to blurry vision without saying so, which is why the American Optometric Association advises an eye exam before first grade and then every year of school.
Adult Vision vs. Pediatric Vision Coverage in Colorado
Children on a Marketplace health plan already have vision coverage, because pediatric vision is an essential health benefit; the adults don’t, and need a separate vision plan.
Connect for Health Colorado is where Colorado residents buy health plans; a stand-alone vision plan is a separate purchase that Daniel can arrange. Any month works, since vision plans have no Open Enrollment period. Enter your ZIP code in the form below and Daniel will send you the vision plans available where you live.
Know where the line sits: a vision plan covers exams and eyewear, while an eye injury treated in an emergency department goes through health insurance. Medicare’s hospital directory lists 4 hospitals with emergency services in Boulder County, including Boulder Community Health, Good Samaritan Medical Center LLC, Longmont United Hospital and one other.
Call (713) 575-9904 and Daniel will send the vision plans sold in Boulder County and check your family’s providers against each network.