After that, ask your optometrist for a recommendation and visit the doctor's office and get to know the staff. Hagele also noted the doctor's price might or might not reflect their experience and technical skill, though it might reflect how much individualized attention and hand-holding patients receive. LCA Vision and Lasik Vision, both located on Montgomery Road in Kenwood, the local Mecca for laser eye surgery. The competition has spurred print and radio ads either promoting or de-emphasizing the procedure's price, depending on who's buying the ads, and attracting the scorn of independent doctors, who question how the chains can keep quality high and prices low. A high number of surgeries and cooperation with the 30 other LCA locations across the U.S. LCA's buying power nets the company discounts on lasers and other equipment, plus a better rate on advertising, said Tom Watson, LCA's president.
Local specialists have a hard time competing with that.
Schneider believes their goal is to drive down the local price of laser eye surgery so some surgeons stop performing it and then raise prices when the competition is thinned. If that doesn't work out, don't expect to see them stay in business, he said. Watson said the price can stay low as long as enough people keep coming in the door. You certainly wouldn't expect them to be able to compete with us. That shouldn't be a problem, Watson said, because only about 8.5 percent of LCA's patients need retreatment.