Longtime Peoria ophthalmology practice announces closure

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Longtime Peoria ophthalmology practice announces closure

A Peoria-area ophthalmology practice is set to close next month due to rising costs and financial issues.

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announced that its practice, which opened in 1981, would be closing on June 27 after the company ran into “unforeseen financial challenges, rising operational costs and insurance reimbursement issues,” according to a statement from

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, the practice’s medical director.

The practice has two locations – in Peoria at 6800 North Knoxville Ave. and in Pekin at 725 North 14th St.

Both locations of Bond Eye Associates, pictured here at 6800 Knoxville Avenue in Peoria, and another at 725 S. 14th Street in Pekin, are closing permanently

Stephanie McCartney, the practice’s administrator, said that a change last year in Medicaid’s fee structure led to a decrease in reimbursements to them, which she noted was a big part of their operation.

“It went from reimbursing $287 to $87 on some procedures that we do,” McCartney said. “Some insurance companies were not reimbursing us at all. We still have claims not paid from October of last year. With the price of everything going up and not getting any reimbursements in, it’s taken it’s toll. We can’t afford to continue on.”

McCartney said that negotiations are ongoing to bring a vision care practice to their Pekin location, with nothing finalized as of Wednesday. However, patients of

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are asked to find other arrangements for their eye care.

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Adler told the Journal Star on Tuesday that he is planning to continue to practice eye care under Kamal Kishore with

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serving both Peoria and La Salle-Peru.

Head and neck pain patients will continue to have the services of Kimberly Lopez at

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.

The practice asks that patients contact their insurance company to seek a new provider or check with their hospital’s physician referral service to help find a new ophthalmologist to treat them. The practice will assist patients in transferring their medical records to a new location.

McCartney said that checking with insurance is important for patients transferring from Bond, as they had been the only downstate optometrists to take all insurance plans.

“Someone, for instance, who has Aetna Better Health, the area they can be seen is close to Chicago,” McCartney said. “There is nobody else in this area, so it’s very directive on their insurance and they need to contact their insurance company to see who can see them.”

Adler said Wednesday that he was fortunate to have worked with Bond for the past 11 years, noting that he and Bond, who retired in 2024, complemented each other well through their various specialties – cataracts and refractive surgery for Bond, retina work for Adler.

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Dr. Roger Adler has been an opthalmologist and retinal specialist at Bond Eye Associates for the past 11 years.

He said that Bond set itself apart by focusing on more than just the typical pathology, even referring patients for diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

“We treat them as a person,” Adler said. “Dr. Bond has always encouraged that in so many ways. We treat them anywhere from their contact lenses to deep pathology to diabetic eye disease. It’s not uncommon that we are the first people to get them into other types of medicine. They didn’t know that they were a diabetic until they came for glasses.”

McCartney said that it was sad that the practice would be closing, saying that they got caught up in the many problems that small businesses face with rising costs and insurance issues.

“We just couldn’t proceed any more,” McCartney said. “It’s hard for small practices to maintain, but Dr. Bond had been in practice for 44 years, so we built a lot of good relationships with people.”

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star:

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