Health insurance for MRI scans

Who pays for MRI scans?

Medicare

Medicare almost always covers MRI scans as long as it has been ordered by a GP or a recognised medical specialist. They generally cost around $100 to $500 but you might not have any out of pocket expenses because it's often bulk billed.

Private health insurance

If you receive an MRI scan as a public patient in a public hospital you can claim a rebate, providing it was part of a Medicare approved treatment. If you are covered by health insurance and opt to be treated as a private patient in a public or private hospital, Medicare pays 75-85% of the cost, while the remaining amount is paid by your health fund.

Get a more in-depth look at the costs of MRI scans

What to look for in health insurance policies that cover MRIs

• Sections that include MRI. Look for joint investigation, gastroscopy, diagnostic imaging, health screenings and similar terms. Depending on your particular health issues, you might be able to claim the MRI costs against these treatments.
• Annual benefit limits. This s the highest dollar amount that can be claimed per year for a certain procedure. They might also be per person, or per family if there are multiple people covered by your policy.
• Exclusions. This refers to conditions under which claims won't be paid. Common exclusions include overseas treatment, medically unnecessary scans and scans performed without a doctor's referral.
• Pre-existing conditions. This can be a particular concern for seniors, as such conditions may accumulate over the years, slowly limiting your options. You may wish to look at health insurance options for seniors if you're over 65.

What happens during an MRI?

MRI machines pass radio waves through your body, some of which are absorbed by your body’s tissue before being retransmitted. By turning the large magnet in an MRI machine on and off, the machine picks up the radio waves you are giving off and uses these to generate a picture of a particular part of your body.

Before you undergo an MRI procedure, what you can expect will be thoroughly explained to you by the radiographer. After changing into a gown, you will be asked to lie on a table. This table then passes into the “tunnel” inside the MRI machine, where the scan will take place.

You'll then need to lie on the table in the tunnel while the scans are completed, which can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. You’ll hear a range of knocking and buzzing noises during the scan, but you won’t feel anything. You may be given a dye injection that makes the pictures the machine takes easier to examine, or you may need to hold your breath for some pictures.

• What hospital treatments may require an MRI scan?

  Treatments	Purpose of the MRI scan
  Joint investigations	If you need an MRI for limb joint analysis or preparation for surgery it can be claimed under the joint investigation component of your health insurance policy.
  Gastroscopy	An MRI may be recommended by your doctor for diagnosing health issues affecting digestive system, including the bowels and oesophagus.
  Diagnostic imaging	A general term for procedures like X-rays, CT scans, MRIs and other imaging techniques, and requires a doctors referral in order to claim.
  Health screenings	Health screenings are preventative measures used to identify potential health issues. Some extras cover include MRI health screening benefits.

Why do you have to remove all metallic items?

One of the key things you’re told before undergoing an MRI scan is that you need to remove all metallic items before going into the machine. The reason behind this can be found in the “M” of “MRI”, which of course stands for “magnetic”.

MRI machines use very high-powered magnets to scan your body, so any metallic objects in the vicinity of the machine’s magnetic field can become magnetised and pulled towards the MRI magnet, which can be quite dangerous.

For example, let’s say you were to wear earrings into an MRI machine. Those metallic earrings could be pulled towards the MRI magnet with such force that they could be ripped from your ears.

For this reason, there are very strict measures in place to stop you taking any metallic items into an MRI scanner. Removing earrings, wedding rings, coins and all other jewellery before undergoing an MRI scan is the best way to ensure your safety.