Health insurance for kidney dialysis
If you need kidney dialysis, private health insurance and Medicare can both help with the costs. Compare health funds.
What different scores mean
9+
Excellent
These products offer a balance between low pricing and more features.
7+
Great
Competitive products within their group.
5+
Standard
Usually these products would either have fewer treatments covered or higher pricing.
0+
Basic
Offering basic cover with limited features or higher pricing.
Key takeaways
- Gold and some Silver Plus hospital policies cover dialysis for chronic kidney failure.
- Private health insurance for dialysis starts around $175 per month.
- All policies for this treatment have a 12-month waiting period.
How much is private health insurance with cover for kidney dialysis?
Below you can find sample quotes from Finder partner funds. All policies include treatments for chronic kidney failure. All prices are based on a single individual with less than $105,000 income and living in Sydney.
Finder survey: Which conditions have Australians made hospital claims for?
| Response | Female |
|---|---|
| Dialysis for chronic kidney failure | 0.38% |
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1006 Australians, December 2023
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.
What is kidney dialysis?
Kidney dialysis is a type of treatment that's used when a patient develops end-stage kidney failure. Dialysis helps to return the body to balance by preventing waste, salt and water from building up in the body. It also helps to maintain a safe level of chemicals in your blood and helps to control blood pressure.
How can I cover the cost of chronic kidney disease and dialysis treatment?
There are a number of ways for you to potentially receive benefits for chronic kidney disease and dialysis, both through the public and private health systems.
- Medicare. The government-funded universal health system includes dialysis treatment in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS).
- GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP). If you need ongoing, structured care for kidney disease, your GP may prepare a GP chronic condition management plan, which can give you rebates towards allied health services. These plans replaced GP Management Plans and Team Care Arrangements on 1 July 2025, and there is no fixed list of conditions or six-month rule - eligibility is your GP's clinical judgement. If you had a plan in place before 1 July 2025, you can keep using it until 1 July 2027.
Below you can see the various types of dialysis treatment and surgical procedures covered by Medicare:
- Dialysis for chronic renal failure
- Haemodialysis
- Haemofiltration
- Haemoperfusion
- Peritoneal dialysis
- Surgical procedures
- Explorative kidney surgery
- Private health insurance. The amount of cover you receive for kidney related treatments will depend on how comprehensive your hospital insurance is:
- Gold policies always cover dialysis. "Dialysis for chronic kidney failure" is a minimum requirement of the Gold tier.
- Silver and Bronze policies only cover dialysis if that category has been added on top of the tier minimum, which insurers usually sell as a "Plus" policy. Without it, no benefit is payable.
- Basic policies do not cover dialysis unless the category has been added, and at Basic level an insurer is allowed to offer it on a restricted basis - meaning you are only covered as a private patient in a public hospital.
You can use the table below as a quick reference. Dialysis for chronic kidney failure is a minimum requirement of Gold only, while kidney and bladder surgery is a minimum requirement from Bronze up, so check which clinical categories your policy lists:
| Kidney treatment | Gold | Silver or Bronze | Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
Dialysis for chronic renal failure:
|
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|
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Surgical procedures:
|
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|
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