What is private health insurance with acupuncture?
Some health insurance policies may provide cover for acupuncture treatment. This usually comes in the form of an extras health insurance policy, which may cover other general health services like dental and physio as well.
What does health insurance for acupuncture cover?
A policy that includes acupuncture cover may help with the cost of your regular acupuncture treatments, up to certain annual limits (e.g. $300 that can be claimed for the calendar year). Depending on your policy, this limit may also be shared with other forms of treatment or naturopathy, such as remedial massage, myotherapy and Chinese medicine. What you end up getting back will either be in the form of a percentage of the acupuncture cost or a set dollar amount.
How much does health insurance for acupuncture cost?
The cost of a health insurance policy that covers acupuncture will vary depending on factors such as the provider you choose, the level of cover a policy has, where you live and who you want to be covered (i.e. yourself, you and your partner or your whole family).
Acupuncture services are usually available in medium level extras policies, but this can change depending on the provider. It’s important to compare your options to ensure that a policy is giving you adequate coverage, as well as good value for money.
Is there a waiting period for private health insurance with acupuncture?
Private health insurers generally impose waiting periods on different forms of cover, in order to stop people from signing up for a policy, getting treatment and then cancelling their policy immediately. For acupuncture cover, you’ll typically have to serve a two month waiting period before you can make a claim.
How to choose the right health insurance for acupuncture
When comparing policies that cover acupuncture, you should consider:
- How often do you visit the acupuncturist?
- What percentage of the cost of treatment can you claim back and would you be willing to pay a higher premium to receive a higher percentage back?
- What’s included in the policy? Check the policy’s Private Health Information Statement (PHIS) to see what you’re covered for.
- What annual limits and sub-limits apply?
- Is your chosen acupuncturist affiliated with a particular health fund and do they offer discounted or ‘no gap’ services to members of a specific health fund? ‘No gap’ refers to services provided with no out-of-pocket costs incurred.
- What are the waiting periods before you can make a claim?
Would other preventative services, such as physiotherapy or chiropractic care, be beneficial to have in your policy as well?






































