Not honest. Not ethical. I went to the Toms River location, but this is the same practice…read more
Went for a cataract consultation and saw Dr. Harjit Athwal, or "Dr. Harry", as he is affectionately called by the staff.
If you're new to the world of cataract surgery, let me fill you in on the drill. If you have health insurance or Medicare, that will usually cover a "basic" lens implant. All the eye Drs. will try to sell you on one of several "premium lenses" on the market that should provide you with a better range of vision'
The catch is that insurance won't cover the extra cost for this "premium lens". I've been quoted $3,000 - 3,750 per eye EXTRA out of pocket above what insurance pays for one of these lenses. Apparently, what insurance pays isn't enough to keep these guys in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. That's why they all try to sell you on the upgrade. Some, like this Dr. Harry guy, sound just like used car salesmen, only with fancier plaques on the wall than "salesman of the month". Now, I am in sales myself, so I realize the difference between misrepresentation and persuasion.
But that's the system here, a good lens replacement will cost you mucho $, even if you have insurance. Welcome to America! My point of contention with Dr. Harry is NOT the extra charge (they all do this).
He knew I was talking to other Drs, and he tried to FOOL me into believing he's cheaper than the other guys. Yea, did I mention he reminded me of a used car salesmen?
You see when they perform the surgery, they can make the incision by hand or by what's called an Femtosecond Laser. The FS Laser, as it's called, is state of the art and much more accurate, as attested to by all 6 of the other ophthalmologists that I've been to.
Dr. Harry quoted me a price of $3,250 per eye for the premium lens. This included a cost of $600 for the use of the FS Laser, which every other Dr. said was the way to go with a premium lens. But not Dr. Harry, he was pushing me to have him do the incision by hand "because I'm so good". This would bring his price down to $2,650, well below the other guys.
All the other eye Drs I spoke with either laughed or rolled their eyes when I recounted that Dr. Harry said he could do the operation by hand as well as the laser.
Finally, I had an appointment with the ophthalmologist next door to him. And when I shared this anecdote, he laughed, and said that Dr. Harry doesn't have his own FS Laser, so he RENTS the use of the laser from the surgery center. It suddenly became very clear. It cost Dr Harry to rent the laser, probably less than $600 ( since I assume he marks that up), but still a substantial amount. So if he cuts out the laser, he can low ball his price and he loses little or no money! WOW
He makes the same $$ with an inferior procedure, and the only one who loses is me.
And keeping in character, this is the only place I've been to for a cataract evaluation, where they charged an extra $40 (not covered by standard medical ins) for an regular eye exam (I wasn't there for glasses) in addition to the cataract evaluation.
There are too many good eye doctors in Toms River area to even consider this place.
