What cancer-related services are covered by private health insurance?

Private health cover will help with a portion, or all, of the costs of being a private patient who receives treatment in either a private or public hospital. The amount you're covered for varies depending on the level of cover you hold. Your insurance can also help you pay for some out-of-hospital services. What you're covered for depends on the level of extras cover you hold. This could include some of the complementary services that are often used to treat cancer patients. For example, occupational therapy , home nursing, assisted living programmes and psychology. By paying more for a comprehensive Gold policy, you can help to reduce some of the costs that aren't fully met by your hospital stay and post-hospital care.

How much does cancer treatment cost in Australia?

Figures from Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHFA) showed that nearly half of Australian cancer patients paid more than $5,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for their treatment over a two-year span; a quarter spent more than $10,000. The 2018 report, which was the most recent data we could find, can be read here. Costs can vary quite a bit based on where you live, your individual illness, the treatment needed and recovery time.

Why do out-of-pocket expenses vary so much from patient to patient?

Cancer treatment is not as straightforward as something like fixing a broken nose, where the diagnosis is straightforward and you book into see a single surgeon who fixes you up and sends you on your way. Here are some of the things that make cancer treatment different: Every cancer is different. A rare form of blood cancer will probably require more testing and more specialist visits than a malignant mole clearly visible on the skin. Diagnosis can take a while. Depending on what type of cancer is suspected, you could be running around from your GPs to the testing clinics, back to the GP, over to a specialist who sends you for some more tests, then back to the specialist and so on. Treatment can vary widely from case to case. If you need treatment, you might need anything from surgery to remove a tumor to chemotherapy to hormone therapy to rehab to all of the above. You won't always be checked into a hospital. Sometimes you'll be a patient in a hospital other times you'll be treated as an outpatient . You can't always choose where you have certain procedures. Sometimes you'll have no choice but to visit a private clinic for procedures like an MRI or radiation therapy. Because these are out-of-hospital treatments, you'd likely need to cover the MRI costs yourself, as insurance can only cover hospital treatments. Other times you'll be able to locate a public clinic that will do certain things cheaper.