Have LASIK, Will Travel

I just opened up an e-mail from a major airline and got this pitch:

Have LASIK at participating LasikPlus centers and earn up to 25,000 miles. At LasikPlus, you’ll experience the latest advances in laser eye surgery technology. Schedule your free exam today to determine if LASIK can help you see your life and your travels in focus.

Interesting. It contains several elements that some people will find objectionable:

• LASIK isn’t covered by most insurance plans (hey, shouldn’t insurance cover everything?);
• It’s a form of advertising about a health condition;
• Won’t people be manipulated by shysters into getting treatment they don’t need?

As objectionable as advertising can be, it is part of any competitive market. While you’d be a fool — and there shouldn’t be a law against being a fool, especially if you’re spending your own money — to make advertising the sole determinant of your decisions, it can inform of options. Then you do your own research and come to a conclusion.

LASIK, as many commentators have pointed out, is the one health-related procedure that has seen both quality improvements and price reductions over the years.

Cross-posted from State House Call.

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