Santa Barbara Eyecare

Please try your best to avoid this clinic. I was a student at UCSB and was referred to this clinic because of my eye issues by my school clinic. After examination, they told me there was not serious issue with my eyes. But my eye condition continued. When the doctor asked me whether I want to do the exam, I said yes and thought it is the typical examination covered by my insurance. One month later, I received a $250 bill for this visit. I was shocked and immediately contacted the clinic. No one informed me the price for my examination the whole time and the doctor was on his phone most of the time. I tried my best to understand the situation and contacted this clinic and insurance multiple times across months. The insurance rejected to handle this case bc the amount is under $500. From the clinic, basically what I got is because you agreed to the exam, you had to pay (though no price information was disclosed to me during the whole visit). I was scared by this visit and was afraid to visit another eye doctor for a whole year while my eye condition was getting worse. I am also afraid that this bill will ruin my credit record but I didn't think I should pay for a visit that is neither transparent nor effective. So I tried my best, politely contacted them more than 10 times. Half of the time no one picked, one third of the time someone picked up them told me they can't make a decision, I had to wait for their manager. Then nobody called me back. There was two times, I finally was able to talk the manager, and they said they improved the visit experience based on feedback but nothing they can do about the bill. I was frustrated but still politely asked for a solution (e.g., partial payment). They said I can pay a portion first, and we can keep discussing this (so I paid $50, and waited to hear back, then no contact for several months). Two weeks ago, I called them again to check the bill status and wanted to settle down this issue. They told me my bill is in pre-collection status since I didn't make my payment. I was surprised and asked for clarification. They said last time we agreed on a monthly payment plan (like $5 or $10 a month), which I didn't agree and I directly paid a $50. I asked if I could paid half of the amount to settle this bill since I was not being treated fairly and they didn't do a proper financial disclosure when letting me do the decision. They said they need to check with the manager and required me to pay the half amount that day. So I directly paid another $100. Then another silence two weeks passed. I called them today and they said manager said no, but you can still do a monthly payment. I regretted on my time trying to resolve this issue with good faith. I also regretted choosing this clinic that deeply traumatized me for taking care of my health needs. For your health and time, avoid this clinic. *Update I politely called them today and asked for a solution. The manager directly hanged up my call and I was just about to ask for payment information, to get this bill paid off and move on. Then I called two times during their working hours and nobody answered my call. They were clearly upset that I left this review.

My husband and i both had cataract surgery over the last two weeks with Dr. Katsev. To say that we couldn’t be happier with our entire experience is an understatement. We drove up from Pasadena because we knew that Dr. Katsev is simply the best at what he does. Our options and expectations were clearly explained and all our questions answered. We never felt rushed. The office is beautiful and the front desk and support staff are friendly and welcoming. We highly recommend Santa Barbara Eyecare to anyone looking for top notch care.

Don’t go here if UCSB student health recommends you. In my experience, they have a scamming business with UCSB where UCSB will say you are covered by insurance but later they will send you a huge bill. Your insurance will also deny the bill. This feels like a syndicate with UCSB. And this clinic never tells you about the bill upfront, they only say you have little copay. As you can see from other reviews, they seem to be partnered with UCSB in such scamming activity and their license should be reviewed.

I attended an appointment on 9/2/25 with Dr. Cailyn Katsev Ruck, for a routine eye exam and contact lens/glasses prescription. At the outset of the appointment I was told that my co-pay would be $10 and, additionally, I opted to pay an additional $20 for a retinal scan (versus dilation). All good. However, at the conclusion of this appointment, Dr. Katsev Ruck indicated that I was being charged $85 to receive the contact lens/eyeglass prescription (of which she had provided a hard copy at this point). When I objected to this, she literally took the physical prescription from my hands [In their rebuttal, below, they deny doing this; in fact, this is exactly what did happen. And, yes, I did "raise my voice," as did the doctor in question]. Withholding a person's contact lens/eyeglass prescription is a clear violation of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Eyeglass Rule and Contact Lens Rule, which states that prescriptions must be provided to all patients without request and without additional fees. I have filed a complaint with the FTC.

So let me start off by saying this is the best optometrist office I’ve EVER been to. The following was after my first appointment. Let’s begin with parking, it’s not always easy in Santa Barbara but it was here. The office was clean, organized and comfortable. Front office staff was friendly and efficient. That can be rare nowadays. Now for the best part, Dr Julie Katsev was just the icing on the cake. She was refreshing when it comes to health care. All smiles, down to earth, and extremely knowledgeable. She is genuine and I have to say made for a great time…I didn’t even want the appointment to end…I know right! Who says that! Oh and let’s not forget that this is is a family business…how cool is that! You have a patient for life!