Health insurance for sleep apnoea

What is sleep apnoea?

Sleep apnoea is a disorder that occurs when a person's breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep. It can be a serious affliction as it restricts the body of its regular oxygen levels, and can impact long-term health in some cases.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnoea?

An 'apnoea' is the time when your breathing stops, and it can last anything from 10-90 seconds. While it is often hard to distinguish sleep apnoea from other sleeping problems, there are a few recognisable symptoms that you will feel consistently:

If you suspect you may have sleep apnoea, it's important to speak with your GP. They may refer you to a sleep physician for a test, known as a sleep study. This can confirm if you have sleep apnoea, or another sleep problem such as insomnia or narcolepsy.

How does Medicare cover sleep apnoea?

Before you can receive a Medicare rebate for a sleep study test, your doctor will need to make sure you are eligible by asking a series of approved screening questions. This is in order to make sure you definitely have a sleep disorder and are not being misdiagnosed.

Medicare may also cover Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy if you've been diagnosed with sleep apnoea. Your doctor will determine if you are eligible for CPAP based on how effective they feel the therapy may be in your situation.

Although Medicare will cover some of the costs, you'll still have out-of-pocket expenses. These can add up each time you receive care.

How does private health insurance cover sleep apnoea?

Treatment options vary depending on your insurer, but generally private health cover can help with the following:

Some policies may cover a home sleep test. According to SleepFoundation.org, the accuracy of home sleep tests for apnoea can range from 68% to 91%.

It's also worth remembering you should always get the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) number from your doctor. This lets you know exactly what you'll pay, so you are able to budget well in advance of treatment.

Compare health insurance with sleep apnoea coverage

We crunched through the policies and here are some policies from Finder partners that offer a benefit for sleep apnoea or sleep studies. To compare even more funds, use the free tool below the table. All prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income and living in Sydney.

Finder Score - Hospital cover health insurance

Each month we analyse our 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

Frequently asked questions

• What causes sleep apnoea?

  A range of factors can contribute to sleep apnoea. Risk factors include having a small chin or a facial deformity. An underactive thyroid, large tonsils or adenoids are also factors.

  Unhealthy lifestyles can also contribute towards people getting sleep apnoea. For example, Excessive alcohol consumption or smoking can increase your risk.

• Is there a sleep apnoea test?

  Yes. In order to find out if you're suffering from sleep apnoea, you can get a sleep test, or sleep study. Doctors will monitor things like your heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels. Your doctor usually prescribes the tests, which involve you spending a night in hospital so you can be properly monitored.

• What does sleep apnoea treatment involve?

  Most commonly, you'll receive breathing apparatus, such as a continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP), which will assist your night-time breathing. This prevents you from snoring and, more importantly, makes sure you're breathing properly. It also helps ensure you're getting enough oxygen to your brain. You may also receive weight loss and physical exercise help.

  Depending on your cover and condition, you may also receive help from a respiratory therapist, otolaryngologist or pulmonologist. This can often involve taking medication – including sleep medication – and surgery in some cases.