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Health insurance for non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Get cover for non-PBS pharmaceuticals with high-level extras insurance.
Who is this cover for?
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Compare 40+ funds
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I'm Tim, your insurance expert.
Here to help you find the right cover for you!
Step 1/2 - About your cover
Which state do you live in?
QLD
NSW
ACT
VIC
TAS
SA
WA
NT
What's your age?
Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated September 2024, in line with Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices reflect the cheapest available for a single individual with less than $97,000 income and living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
Why compare with us
You'll pay the same price as going direct - we don't
charge fees
We don't ask for your phone number to see prices
Hang tight - we're fetching policies just for you!
Medications on the PBS are subsidised my Medicare, but you'll have to pay a co-payment.
Non-PBS medications can be partly covered by a private extras policy.
Private cover will still attract a co-payment, and there'll be per-item and yearly limits.
What is the PBS?
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, or PBS, is a list of subsidised medicines offered to Australians. It's super valuable, because some medicine costs an ungodly amount of money. However, the PBS doesn't cover every drugs, so you may want to consider health insurance that covers non-PBS items.
PBS co-payments
PBS drugs aren't fully subsidised, there is a co-pay, an out-of-pocket cost you'll need to pay for each drug. It ranges from a maximum of $7.70 for concession card holders, up to a maximum of $31.60 for everyone else. The Medicare Safety Net will kick if you spent a lot in a single year. That means you'll only ever pay a maximum of $277.20 for concession card holders and $1,647.90 for general patients on PBS drugs each year.
How are medications covered in Australia?
Medications can be covered by either Medicare, Australia's public healthcare system, or private health insurance. The details vary though.
Public health system:Medicare will cover a lot of the cost of drugs on listed the PBS, with a small out-of-pocket cost. Medicare will not reduce the cost of drugs that aren't on the PBS.
Private health system. Private cover won't do anything for medicines on the PBS, but can help with the cost of non-PBS pharmaceuticals. The health funds will also require a co-pay amount, normally the same amount as the current Medicare PBS co-payment.
What costs will my health fund cover?
Cover for non-PBS medications is included on some medium or high level extras policies from Australian health funds. However, cover is only included if the non-PBS medication:
Costs more than the current PBS co-payment amount.
Is dispensed by a registered pharmacist in a private practice.
Is prescribed to you by a GP, and is only available by prescription.
Is listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.
The exact level of cover provided depends on the health fund and the policy you choose. Most have a per-item claim limit, eg $50, as well as a yearly limit, eg $300. Those limit change a lot between policies.
Why compare health insurance with Finder?
We don't ask for your phone or email to see prices.
With 1 click, you can open your results to nearly every fund in Australia.
You pay the same price as going direct – we charge no fees.
Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
Email me my results (optional)
To get a copy of your results for later, add your email below
Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance & utilities expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. See full bio
Tim's expertise
Tim has written 123 Finder guides across topics including:
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Physiotherapy services can be beneficial at any life stage, so it could be worth considering and comparing extras health insurance that can cover the cost of this type of treatment.
Discover more about accessing naturopathy, herbal remedies, traditional Chinese medicine and other alternatives with coverage through your health insurance.
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We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
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Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
Email me my results (optional)
To get a copy of your results for later, add your email below
