Health insurance for laser eye surgery

Medicare won’t cover you for laser eye surgery, but some extras insurance policies will give you a benefit from around $14 a week.

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Gary Ross Hunter

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Peta Taylor

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Key takeaways

  • Laser eye surgery insurance is available with some extras or combined hospital and extras policies.
  • A comprehensive extras insurance policy can knock around $1200 off your bill.
  • Medicare does not cover laser eye surgery as it is not considered medically necessary.

Health insurance that covers laser eye surgery

Only a handful of health insurers cover you for laser eye surgery. We've listed them below.

FundPolicyLaser Eye SurgeryLimitMonthly PriceApply
ahm logoSuper ExtrasYes$900 per eye$93.55 Get quote
ahm logoLifestyle ExtrasYes$600 per eye$57.40 Get quote
Defence Health logoPremier ExtrasYes$1,500$82.26 More info
GMHBA logoGMHBA Top Extras 75% BenefitsYes$250$108.15 Get quote
GMHBA logoGMHBA Top Extras Set BenefitsYes$250$75.10 Get quote
Navy Health logoPremium ExtrasYes$1,500$92.43 More info
Navy Health logoHealthy Living ExtrasYes$1,200$57.77 More info
Peoplecare logoHigh ExtrasYes$500 per eye$82.70 More info
Peoplecare logoPremium ExtrasYes$600 per eye$128.90 More info

*Quotes are based on single individual with less than $97,000 income and living in Sydney. Prices accurate as of December 2024.

How does health insurance cover laser eye surgery?

Optical extras

Extras

Only a handful of extras insurance policies cover laser eye surgery. There's no requirement for funds to offer cover – which means it's usually only available with very comprehensive policies. In some cases, like Medibank, you'll need to take out a combined hospital and extras policy to be covered.

Hospital

Hospital

Hospital insurance doesn't usually cover laser eye surgery because it's generally not considered 'medically necessary'. However, all bronze policies cover other eye-related treatments including tear duct conditions, eye infections, retinal detachment and trauma to the eye. You'll need a gold policy if you want health insurance for cataract surgery.

What's the difference between laser eye surgery and other eye surgery?

  • Laser eye surgery. These are all different ways of reshaping the lens to correct vision and remove the need to wear glasses. These procedures vary in cost and aren't always covered by either hospital or extras cover.
  • Other eye surgery. This encompasses a wide variety of medically necessary surgical procedures such as glaucoma. It's covered by hospital insurance. Some insurers pay for any major eye procedure recommended by an ophthalmologist, others will only cover specific treatments or parts of the eye.

Eye surgery in the public and private systems

Public

Medicare, Australia's public health system, only covers essential procedures like cataract removal surgery. It does not cover optionals like corrective laser eye surgery.

What does Medicare cover you for?

  • Costs of treatment as a public patient in a public hospital
  • Partial costs of being treated as a private patient in a public hospital
  • Essential eye procedures required for the patient to maintain their sight

What doesn’t Medicare cover you for?

  • Corrective surgery
  • Unessential elective or optional procedures done for cosmetic purposes
  • Procedures carried out to prevent a patient from needing to wear glasses or contact lenses

Private

Private health insurance can cover essential major eye surgery procedures through hospital cover and in some cases, corrective laser eye surgery, through extras cover.

Health insurance policy typeWhat can it cover?
Hospital Cover
  • Treatments undertaken as a private patient in a private hospital.
  • Treatments undertaken at private ophthalmology (eye-related) surgery centres.
  • Costs associated with eye surgery such as anaesthesia and operating theatre fees.
Extras Cover
  • Corrective laser eye surgery.
  • Additional treatments such as eye therapy.
  • Subsidies for glasses and contact lenses.

How much does laser eye surgery cost without insurance?

Without health insurance, you'll need to pay the full cost of laser eye surgery yourself. The final bill will depend on the type of surgery you have, and will vary based on which provider you ultimately choose. Here is a summary of some of the price ranges of common surgery types.

ProcedureTypical price (per eye)Details
LASIK$2,200 - $3,400In LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis), a surgeon uses lasers to create a flap in the cornea and reshape the underlying tissue before replacing the flap.
PRK$2,000-$3,400For PRK (photorefractive keratectomy), a surgeon uses a topical solution to remove the top layer of corneal cells, and a laser to reshape the exposed corneal tissue below.
SMILE$3,300 - $3,700In SMILE (small incision lenticular extraction), a surgeon make a small incision in the cornea with a laser and then removes a small disc of underlying corneal tissue.
ICL$4,700 - $6,200An ICL (implantable contact lenses) is a custom lens, similar to a contact lens, that is created by a surgeon and implanted directly into the eye.

What should I look for when comparing laser eye insurance policies?

When comparing health insurance policies for laser eye surgery, keep the following in mind:

  • Waiting periods. This is the minimum amount of time you must wait between taking out a policy and claiming benefits with it. For laser eye surgery, this is often 24 months, while in-hospital major eye surgery is typically two months.
  • Excess. This is a fee you must pay when claiming benefits. Not all health insurance policies include excesses, but some do. You may be able to opt for a higher excess and lower premiums, or a lower excess and higher premiums. It's good to make sure that your excess is not so high as to prevent you from making any claims.
  • Limits. All private health funds have annual limits, which are the maximum amount you can claim in benefits per year. Limit for laser eye surgery range from around $500 to $3500.

FAQs

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Editor, Insurance

Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 644 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
  • Managing the cost of living
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Publisher of Insurance

Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio

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