Cheap LASIK? An I-Team Investigation

11.18.03
FOX5 TV Atlanta

LASIK Vision Institute says it is the largest provider of laser eye surgery in the country. They operate clinics in several states, including one in Atlanta. LVI advertises heavily in local newspapers and direct mail, huge ads that tout LASIK for $299 an eye. How can a company do that when their competitors charge more than $1000 an eye? That's what the I-Team wanted to know.

What Is LASIK?

LASIK stands for "laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis." An estimated 1,269,000 procedures will be done in 2003. It involves using a medical device to cut a flap off the outer portion of your eye. Once that flap is lifted, the surgeon uses a laser to reshape the corneal tissue behind it. When that is finished, the surgeon folds the flap back where it quickly heals. The result? Often 20-20 vision without glasses, for some people, the first time in their lives.

The Big Ad and the Small Print

The LVI ads we saw touted LASIK with a big $299. But an asterisk led to some small print. "Price may increase based on RX and astigmatism. See center for details." So that's exactly what the I-Team did. Only we took along a hidden camera.

Our First Visit

We asked about the $299 special when we showed up at LVI's office on Cobb Parkway. But after a quick eye exam, the office manager Michael Raab told our producer she didn't qualify for that special rate. He told her the LASIK procedure would cost $1000 per eye. He told us the patient had to have a prescription of -1.25 and very little astigmatism to get the advertised price.

Our Second Visit

We returned to LVI a few weeks later, this time with an I-Team intern whose eyesight should qualify for the $299. But instead of offering that price, the LVI counselor tried to get her to sign up for a lifetime package for $999, meaning she could get free touch-ups for the rest of her life should her eyesight change. After she brought up the $299 ad, he eventually agreed she could get LASIK for that price. But the counselor told her he wouldn't recommend it in her case. Again, he pushed the "lifetime package," but at a price of $799 an eye.

"Anytime somebody's 18, 19, in their 20s or 30s we recommend the lifetime. Because your vision's going to change," the counselor told us.

But the facts say the opposite.

Retreatment Odds

Should a patient really consider paying for LVI's "lifetime package" of free retreatments? Well, according to the April, 2003 issue of Ophthalmology , LASIK patients between 18 and 40 required retreatments between 5 and 9 percent of the time. Those over 40 had a retreatment rate of 14 percent. This one-year study of 2485 procedures determined that the older patients required retreatments far more than the younger ones. But that's not what LVI told our 21-year-old intern.

LVI's Response

LVI corporate counsel Matthew Zifrony told us the patient counselor who saw our intern was "more aggressive than he should have been. I'm not denying that." But he said, "There are far too many people that are receiving the procedure at 299 an eye for what you experienced to be the norm."

He said LVI is the only company that offers LASIK at a price that makes it affordable to a wide range of patients. Mr. Zifrony said LVI doesn't keep count of how many patients actually get LASIK for $299 an eye. He did provide us with the names of five Georgians the company said were $299 customers. Three of the five called us back, including Pam Polley. The midtown Atlanta comptroller said she had no problem getting the LASIK procedure at the advertised rate. She told us none of the people she sat with during her visits to the LVI office was getting LASIK at the special price. She is happy with her LVI experience.

Marketing a Medical Procedure

Steve Richardson used to be the manager of LVI's Atlanta office. Looking back, he says they often sold LASIK the way some dealers sell used cars: start with a low price to get them in the door and then hit them with expensive extras.

A medical ethicist at Emory University says that's the wrong way to market a medical procedure. "I definitely think it's unethical for a healthcare provider to make representations that are of a kind of bait and switch type of model," Dr. John Banja told us. LVI's attorney denied they use a "bait and switch" way of marketing LASIK. "I mean, bait and switch means you're advertising a price, and you're not providing the services at that price," said Mr. Zifrony. "That's clearly not the case here."

But we found there's not a lot of financial incentive for counselors to close a $299 deal.

The Commission Sheet

When patients come into the LVI's office they meet a commission counselor, a salesperson who is not medically trained. A former employee who recently left LVI's Atlanta office provided the I-Team with a commission sheet. It shows how much of a bonus those counselors get depending on the price they convince the patient to pay. If the I-Team had paid $999 during our second visit, the counselor would have pocketed about $25. The $299 special generates a commission of only $2.

LVI's attorney says their counselors get a salary, plus commissions, and they get credit for every patient who signs up, regardless of the price.

Thinking about LASIK? The Federal Trade Commission has some tips online: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/health/lasik.htm

This investigation was reported by Randy Travis, photographed by Tony D'Astoli and edited by Chris Dixon. I-Team producer Mindy Larcom and intern Trici Cross also assisted with the investigation. Michael Carlin is the executive producer of the I-Team.