Parents researching myopia control for their child almost always run into the same frustrating wall: the websites all talk about outcomes and science, but nobody publishes real prices. This makes it nearly impossible to budget, compare programs, or have an honest conversation with your partner about whether this is something your family can do.
We are going to do the opposite. Here is exactly what myopia management costs at our Orange County practice, what is included, how financing works, and what to expect from insurance. No hidden fees, no surprise add-ons, no "starts at" asterisks.
The Short Answer: Ortho-K Is $2,400 to $2,800 for the First Year, Then $1,200 to $1,500 a Year
Our Growth Years program for orthokeratology (ortho-K) has no two-year contract. Pricing is by fit, because a child with mild nearsightedness and a child with significant astigmatism need different lenses and different amounts of chair time. There are three tiers, and we tell you in writing which one applies at the fitting evaluation, before you commit to anything.
| Tier | Who it fits | First year | Each year after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard ortho-K | Mild nearsightedness, no astigmatism | $2,400 – $2,800 | $1,200 – $1,500 (fresh pair of lenses and all tracking visits included) |
| Complex ortho-K | Higher myopia, or astigmatism that needs a toric (dual-axis) design | $3,200 – $3,800 | $1,400 – $1,800 (dual-axis lenses and tracking included) |
| Specialty / post-refractive | Farsightedness, presbyopia, or irregular or post-surgical corneas | $4,500 – $5,000 | $1,800 – $2,200 (highly customized lenses and monitoring) |
| MiSight 1 day | Children who prefer a daytime soft disposable lens | $1,300 – $1,500 lenses + $500 exam & follow-up | The same every year: $1,300 – $1,500 for 730 lenses + $500 exam & follow-up ($1,800 – $2,000 total) |
Within each tier, the exact fee depends on the prescription and the lens design. Standard and Complex designs are fitted within the FDA-approved ortho-K range (nearsightedness up to 6.00 D, astigmatism up to 1.75 D); Specialty designs are custom lenses for prescriptions outside that range. That is the whole price list: no per-visit charges, no refitting fees when the prescription changes, and no separate bill for the routine lens replacement, because it is part of every year after the first.
MiSight Daily Contact Lenses: $1,300 to $1,500 a Year for Lenses, Plus $500 for Exam and Follow-Up
For children who are better suited to a daytime soft lens, MiSight 1 day is $1,300 to $1,500 per year for the annual supply of 730 lenses, set by prescription, plus $500 per year for the exam and all follow-up visits — $1,800 to $2,000 a year in total. MiSight is a daily disposable, so a new lens supply is part of every year of treatment, and the cost is the same each year.
Ortho-K vs MiSight: Which Costs Less Over Time?
For a standard fit, ortho-K — and we would rather show the numbers than make a claim. A standard ortho-K fit comes in at or below MiSight over four to six years; a complex fit is comparable; a specialty fit costs more. Every ortho-K pair is custom-made to your child's cornea, which is why the higher tiers cost what they do.
| Treatment length | Standard ortho-K | MiSight 1 day |
|---|---|---|
| 4 years | $6,000 – $7,300 | $7,200 – $8,000 |
| 6 years | $8,400 – $10,300 | $10,800 – $12,000 |
Standard tier shown; Complex and Specialty tiers cost more. Most children are in treatment for four to six years, so the longer horizon is the realistic one.
What ortho-K gives is the daytime. Your child wears nothing during the day: no lens to lose at school, no case in the backpack, nothing to run out of, and glasses-free sports. The lenses go in at bedtime and come out in the morning, under your supervision. For most families that is the reason they choose ortho-K.
What the First-Year Fee Includes
- Initial comprehensive eye exam with cycloplegic refraction to establish the true refractive error
- Baseline axial length measurement using our Myopia Master device — this is the single most important outcome metric in modern myopia control
- Corneal topography and lens design for your child's individual corneal shape
- All fitting visits, including as many refits and lens designs as it takes to get the fit right
- The first pair of custom ortho-K lenses
- Insertion, removal and cleaning training for you and your child, repeated as often as either of you wants
- A starter care kit with solutions, case and accessories
- All scheduled visits for the first 12 months — typically 8 to 12 in year one
What Each Later Year Includes
- A fresh pair of lenses — routine replacement is built in, not billed separately
- Every progression-tracking visit, including axial length measurements every six months — we show you the reading each time
- Refits when the prescription changes, so a growing child is never wearing a lens that no longer fits
- Backup glasses prescription updated whenever it changes
Most children remain in a myopia management program until their measurements show the eye has stopped growing — which is a measurement, not an age. In COMET, the largest long-term study of nearsighted children, fewer than half had stabilized by 15 and about a quarter were still progressing at 18. The program simply continues, one year at a time, until your child's own numbers say it is done.
Why It Costs More Than Regular Eye Care
A routine pediatric eye exam with a glasses prescription is an affordable, low-intensity visit. Myopia management is a different category of care — closer to orthodontics than to a standard eye exam — and the cost reflects that.
Axial length monitoring device — the Myopia Master
Measuring how much the eye is actually growing requires specialized equipment. The Myopia Master is a combined optical biometer and keratometer specifically designed for pediatric myopia tracking. This instrument is not standard in general optometry offices; it is a practice-level investment dedicated to this patient population.
Multiple specialty lens fittings as your child grows
Children grow. Their eyes grow. Their prescriptions change. An ortho-K lens that fit perfectly at age 9 may need to be remade at age 10. Every refitting visit is included, and each year after the first includes a fresh pair of lenses.
FDA-approved MiSight lenses supply
MiSight 1 day is the first and only FDA-approved soft contact lens specifically indicated for slowing myopia progression in children. The annual lens supply is the $1,300 to $1,500 yearly MiSight lens fee; the exam and follow-up visits are a separate $500 a year.
Intensive provider time
Year one typically involves 8 to 12 visits: initial exam, fitting, dispensing, 1-week check, 1-month check, 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month. Each visit is longer than a standard exam because we are running repeat biometry, troubleshooting compliance issues, and teaching the child better insertion or removal technique. The time adds up, and it is included.
Financing Options
The program is billed one year at a time — the first-year fee, then a smaller annual fee for each year after. For the first-year fee, there are three practical ways to spread it further.
CareCredit — fixed-rate plan
CareCredit is a healthcare financing credit card. For ortho-K we use its fixed-rate monthly plans, with interest, with approved credit — not deferred-interest promotions. We give you a written treatment plan that lists each service and its cost before anything is charged, and other ways to pay are always available. Ask our team for the current terms.
In-house payment plan
For families who prefer not to open a CareCredit account, we offer a flexible in-house payment plan. This typically takes the form of a deposit when lenses are ordered, followed by monthly payments over the first year. Terms are arranged case by case — please ask us at the consultation.
FSA/HSA eligible
Myopia management is considered a medical expense and is eligible for payment from Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts. If you have an FSA or HSA, you can use pre-tax dollars for the first-year fee and every annual fee after it. This can effectively reduce the out-of-pocket cost by 20 to 30 percent depending on your tax bracket.
What Insurance Usually Does (And Doesn't) Cover
Insurance coverage for myopia management is inconsistent, and we want to be honest about what to expect.
Annual vision benefit often covers the comprehensive exam portion
Most vision insurance plans — VSP, EyeMed, Spectera, and similar — include an annual comprehensive eye exam benefit. This benefit typically applies to the exam portion of the initial consultation, which can reduce the effective starting cost. We will verify your benefits at no charge before the program begins.
Ortho-K lenses themselves are rarely covered by vision plans
Most vision plans explicitly exclude specialty contact lens fittings for myopia control. Some plans provide a materials allowance that can offset lens costs, but the full fitting and program fee is almost never covered.
Medical insurance may cover portions if documented progressive myopia is a medical necessity
In cases of rapidly progressing myopia — especially when axial length growth puts the child at higher lifetime risk of retinal disease — some medical insurance plans will cover portions of the evaluation and monitoring. This requires detailed documentation, pre-authorization, and realistic expectations. It is not a guaranteed pathway, but for the right patients it is worth pursuing.
How Our Pricing Compares
Fair disclosure: $2,400 to $2,800 for a standard first year and $1,200 to $1,500 a year after that is in the normal range for evidence-based ortho-K in California, where first-year fees commonly run $1,800 to $2,800. Some practices charge less, some charge more. A few things are worth knowing before you price shop.
Programs that come in significantly cheaper often skip axial length monitoring — they measure prescription change instead, which is a much less sensitive outcome measure and can mask real disease progression. A program without biometry is not really a myopia control program; it is a contact lens fitting with periodic check-ins.
Programs that charge substantially more sometimes bundle in services that most children do not need, or are located in markets with higher baseline costs. We priced our program to include everything that is actually supported by clinical evidence, without padding.
The Cost of NOT Managing Myopia
It is worth looking at the other side of the decision as well. Progressive myopia is not a cosmetic issue — it is a lifelong risk factor.
Higher lifetime eye health risk
Children who reach adulthood with high myopia (-6.00 diopters or worse, or an axial length over 26 millimeters) have measurably elevated risk of retinal detachment, glaucoma, myopic maculopathy, and other sight-threatening conditions later in life. Slowing progression in childhood is the single most impactful thing we can do to reduce that lifetime risk.
Higher optical costs over decades
A child whose myopia is uncontrolled may end up with a -10.00 prescription as an adult. The lenses required for that prescription are more expensive, the optical options are more limited, and the cumulative cost of glasses and contacts over 60 adult years adds up meaningfully.
The emotional cost for kids of progressive vision decline
Every parent who has watched a child's prescription jump a full diopter in one year knows what this looks like from the inside. The child sees themselves getting "more broken" each visit. They start avoiding sports without glasses. They worry about their vision in ways children should not have to worry about. Active management gives the child and the family a sense of agency — something we are doing about this, not just watching it happen.
Questions Parents Ask
What if my child isn't a candidate for Ortho-K?
Ortho-K is excellent for many children, but it is not the only path. Low-dose atropine eye drops, MiSight daily disposables, and Stellest spectacle lenses all have strong evidence bases for slowing myopia progression. We choose the treatment — or combination of treatments — that best fits your child's prescription, anatomy, age, and lifestyle.
What if we want to stop early?
You can. Each year is paid on its own, and you can stop at the end of any year with written notice. There is no two-year contract. If treatment stops mid-year, the portion for visits not yet provided is refunded; the only non-refundable part is the lens portion once your child's custom lenses have been ordered, because those lenses are made to your child's measurements and cannot be used by anyone else.
Do you offer a payment plan under 12 months?
Yes. We can arrange shorter in-house plans for families who prefer to finish payments quickly. Please ask us at the consultation.
Starting Your Child's Program
The first step is a consultation and baseline exam. We measure your child's current refraction, run a cycloplegic refraction to find the true prescription, take a baseline axial length reading with the Myopia Master, and discuss which treatment options best fit your child. You leave that visit with a clear recommendation and a real number — no guessing, no ambiguity.
To schedule, call (949) 323-3600 or visit our myopia management program page. Dr. Bonakdar has been fitting specialty contact lenses for 35 years, and pediatric myopia management is one of the most rewarding parts of our practice — because we are not treating a condition, we are changing the trajectory of a child's eye health for life.
For related reading, see our comparison of ortho-K versus atropine versus MiSight for myopia management, our overview of orthokeratology, and our Stellest spectacle lens program.
¿Tiene preguntas sobre su salud visual?
El Dr. Alexander Bonakdar y su equipo están aquí para ayudarle. Agende una consulta para hablar sobre sus necesidades específicas.