The policies listed in this table all provide cover for IVF and come with a 12-month waiting period. They come with heaps of other benefits too, so don't forget to click "All treatments" for a better look. 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
The policies listed in this table are all Finder partners.According to the Department of Health, the median cost of IVF in Australia is $8,015. That cost will vary between providers and it doesn't take into account any additional treatments or services that you might need.
If you're entitled to Medicare, the bill will be much lower. That's because Medicare pays towards the cost of IVF as long as you have a referral from your doctor.
| Treatment | Median cost | Medicare rebate |
|---|---|---|
| Initial IVF cycle | $8,015 | $3,027.35 |
| Subsequent IVF cycle | $7,950 | $2,826.35 |
The Medicare rebate shown applies if you have not reached the Medicare Safety Net. If you have reached the threshold, you may receive a larger benefit from Medicare.
In addition to the actual IVF procedure, there are other medical expenses associated with IVF. We've listed some common examples in the table below, but be aware that these costs may vary depending on your own health history, location and medical practitioner.
| Treatment | Median cost | Medicare rebate |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist appointment | $168 | $73.85 |
| Anaesthetist appointment | $75 | $37.15 |
| Anaesthesia | $304 | $67.35 |
| ICSI | $812 | $355.30 |
| Frozen embryo transfer | $2,510 | $710.15 |
| Embryo transfer | $204 | $94.45 |
| Ovulation monitoring | $900 | $413.75 |
| Egg retrieval | $389 | $301.30 |
Source: The Department of Health, 16 October 2020. The Medicare rebate shown applies if you have not reached the Medicare Safety Net. If you have reached the threshold, you may receive a larger benefit from Medicare.
Yes, the cost of IVF is partially covered by Medicare. If you have a current referral from your doctor, Medicare can reduce the cost of treatment by thousands of dollars.
Medicare can also help with the cost of other procedures associated with IVF, including ICSI, which involves injecting sperm directly into an egg.
The Medicare Safety Net provides further financial relief to Australians who incur particularly high out-of-hospital costs in a year.
Once your out-of-pocket costs reach a certain threshold, Medicare will increase the benefit amount on certain procedures or treatments.
| Threshold | Threshold amount | What counts towards the threshold? | What benefit will you get back? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original (OMSN) | $477.90 | Your gap amount | 100% of the schedule fee for out-of-hospital services |
| Extended (EMSN) | $2,169.20 | Your out-of-pocket expenses | 80% of out-of-pocket costs or the EMSN benefit caps for out-of-hospital services |
Gold tier hospital policies can help towards the overall cost of IVF but there are some conditions you'll probably have to meet before receiving a benefit.
Usually, private hospital insurance will only cover services where you are admitted as a patient to hospital. This is typically called an in-patient service. It's also likely that your fund will only pay a benefit if there is a Medicare benefit number attached to the service or procedure.
Generally, the main surgical procedure in an IVF cycle is the egg collection. You might see this procedure referred to as egg pick-up, oocyte pick-up, OPU or even egg harvesting.
This procedure is performed in an operating theatre, so you'll be admitted as an in-patient. If your policy covers assisted reproductive services, which gold policies do, then the hospital accommodation and theatre fees will be covered by your health fund. If you're admitted as an in-patient for the embryo transfer procedure, the same benefits will apply again.
A gold level policy will also help cover the cost of anaesthetists and doctors fees, counselling appointments and some IVF drugs.
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