All prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income and living in Sydney.
Each month we analyse over 10,000 hospital insurance products and rate each one on price and features. What we end up with is a nice round number out of 10 that helps you compare hospital cover a bit faster.
Before we start scoring, we need to make sure we're comparing like-for-like. Just as it doesn't make sense to compare a bicycle with a Ferrari, it doesn't make sense to compare basic hospital policies to top-tier Gold policies. Each policy is given a price score and feature score. These are then combined to determine each policies's Finder Score.
Read the full Finder Score methodology
There are many different types of treatment available for drug and alcohol addiction and a gold hospital policy can help in covering the costs of this. These kinds of treatments are typically covered under the following categories of your policy:
It's important to note that outpatient rehabilitation is not covered by private health insurance. Even the treatments that are covered may still carry out of pocket expenses as every insurer has benefit limits that will apply. Additionally, a gold policy will typically have waiting periods of 2 months before you can access these services, however, there are some exceptions if you're eligible for the mental health waiver. There's more information about that further down the page.
| Treatment | Description | How a gold health insurance policy can help |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal or detoxification | Ceasing drug and alcohol use, while minimising side-effects and the risk of harm. | If this is taking place in a hospital, private health insurance can cover your in-patient costs (hospital bed, medications used while in hospital). |
| Pharmacotherapy | Substitution of a harmful drug with medication to reduce cravings and the risk of overdose. | If this takes place in a hospital, you'd be covered under 'in-patient' treatments. |
| Counselling | Different approaches include talking through your problems and learning how to change the way you think and deal with difficult situations. | Health insurance doesn't cover this unless it's in a hospital with a psychiatrist |
| Rehabilitation programs | A long-term approach to achieving a drug and alcohol-free lifestyle, with no further medication provided once withdrawal is successfully completed. | If this rehab is done in a hospital, you may be covered under 'in-hospital treatments', 'rehabilitation' or 'psychiatry'. |
| Complementary therapies | Treatments such as relaxation therapies and natural remedies, which can be useful in managing withdrawal symptoms. | Health insurance won't cover this. |
| Support groups | Support programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous | Health insurance doesn't cover this. They're typically free community groups. |
The Australian government has a range of support services available to help those who are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. These services are also available to those who are affected by someone else's addiction.
If you or someone you care about is experiencing problems with drugs or alcohol, the below help lines are available for counseling, treatment, information and support.
Mental health services are available via Medicare, but this can be limited. Every Australian resident is entitled to 10 sessions of mental health services (like a psychologist or a psychiatrist), which Medicare will cover a certain amount for. However, oftentimes, the practitioner will charge more than what Medicare covers so you're still left with some out of pocket expenses.
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