Monday, June 23, 2014

Free Eye Exams

Anyone who wears glasses and lives in Israel knows that it can be a big pain in the neck to get your eyes checked and get new glasses. Some places WILL do a free eye exam, but then you must buy glasses from them. Some kuppot cholim may subsidize eye exams for kids, but not adults... It is very confusing and frustrating. When I asked my kupat cholim eye doctor about getting a prescription for new glasses, she said she can't do them and I would need to go to an optometrist...

 I'll admit, I've needed new glasses for quite some time now. But I haven't gotten them. The price of getting new glasses for my specific set of eye issues is SO high. And no one would tell me for sure how high until they saw my prescription. But my old prescription is outdated, so they'd need to do a new exam, and it would cost hundreds of shekels just for the exam if I did NOT end up buying glasses at that store (like if I wanted to order from somewhere overseas!).

 I knew of some options for lower priced eye exams in the Center of the country. But today, I found out that now there are options EVERYWHERE, including in the far northern part of the country near me!
SuperPharm has opened their "Optic" stores all over. And they offer free eye exams! Of course, they hope you'll order glasses or contacts from them, but you don't need to. And now there is a SuperPharm Optic in the following cities (or find the Hebrew list with addresses and phone numbers here):

 Eilat, Ashdod, Be'er Sheva (x2), Beit Shemesh, Bat Yam, Herzliya, Hadera, Haifa, Teverya, Yerushalayim (x3), Kfar Saba, Karmiel, Nazareth Illit, Netanya (x2) Petach Tikva, Kiryat Ata, Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Shmonah, Rishon LeZion (x2), Rechovot (x2), Ramle, Ra'anan, and Tel Aviv (x3).

 I think they recommend calling to make an appointment with the optometrist, or you can fill out a form online for them to call you to schedule one. 

Have any of you tried out SuperPharm Optic?

Time for me to make an appointment. I will be so happy to get new glasses!

**UPDATE**
Officially Super Pharm will not give you a copy of your prescription if you do not purchase glasses from them. However, I have heard that some people have been able to get copies free of charge. I think it may depend on the day/time/mood of the optician if they are willing to bend the rules. 

P.S. If you are looking to buy glasses online, there are a number of options out there. But here's one of my affiliate links, along with a great coupon code:  10% off all orders with code EYEBUY10 at EyeBuyDirect.com through June 30th, 2014
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5 comments:

  1. newshinyJune 23, 2014 at 4:50 PM

    Last I heard, superpharm will do the eye test for free, but won't give you a copy of your prescription unless you pay. I think the fee was around 200nis. Obviously, if you order from them, you don't need to 'buy' your prescription as they already have a copy of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. EsterJune 23, 2014 at 5:02 PM

      I was told today that people have not had to pay. I wonder if this varies by location. I will try to verify.

      Delete
    2. newshinyJune 23, 2014 at 6:42 PM

      That's great news, if it's free and you get the prescription. It was a while ago that I heard you need to buy the prescription, so they may very well have changed their rules.

      Delete
  2. devoAugust 19, 2015 at 2:11 PM

    You can get free eye exams (and they give you your prescription) plus glasses and contacts at cost at the 2 Israeli optometry schools- Bar Ilan U 03-5317691/2 and Hadassah in Jerusalem. You get checked by a student and then re-checked by an anglo doctor of optometry. Def the most reliable frugal option.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bob MillerSeptember 21, 2020 at 12:44 PM

    Useful post.

    ReplyDelete

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