Does private health insurance cover psychology?

If you have an extras policy then it's likely you are covered for psychology services. To find out, look at your product disclosure statement to see if it's included in your level of cover and what the benefit limits are. If you can't locate your product disclosure statement, get in touch with your insurer and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Does Medicare cover psychology?

To an extent, yes. Medicare can help with the cost of seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist. You'll need to have a mental health care plan to access this, which can be organised via your GP.

Am I covered for inpatient mental health services?

If you have a gold hospital policy then you are covered for inpatient psychiatric services. If you have a silver, bronze or basic policy then you are covered on a restricted basis. If you don't have health insurance at all then you may be able to get help in a public hospital but wait times are typically very long and you may not be able to access the services you need immediately.

Am I covered for outpatient mental health services?

Under a hospital policy, no. Under an extras policy though, you may be covered depending on what kind of outpatient care you need. An extras policy can support you for outpatient mental health services like psychology.

Are psychiatrists covered by health insurance?

Only if you have hospital cover and only if the treatment is taking place in a hospital.

Will I have to serve a waiting period for psychiatric care?

Yes, but it's only 2 months, even if you have a pre-existing condition. The Mental Health waiver also allows you to upgrade your policy without serving the usual 2-month waiting period to access in-hospital psychiatric services.