Taking control of your mental health
While half of Australians will experience a mental illness in their life the proportion of people accessing treatment is half that of people with physical disorders.
Those living with a mental illness, may be entitled to receive a Medicare rebate - covering part of the cost of your appointments with a psychologist.
Mental health reforms and increased awareness are slowly starting to change things with more young Australians also using extras cover to access health maintenance services such as a physio, chiro, and remedial massage, which can also assist with your mental health and wellbeing.
Does private health insurance cover mental health?
Private health insurance can supplement the rebates you are entitled to from Medicare. It can cover you in two ways:
- Psychiatric (inpatient care); Gold Hospital covers treatment in a private hospital. There is a two-month waiting period, but you may be eligible to have this waived.
- Mental Health (outpatient care); Lot’s Extras, Everyday Extras and More Extras covers psychological therapy when you are no longer eligible to claim with Medicare.
If you need some assistance figuring out the best health insurance with psychology benefits or psychiatric services, or just want to know more about our hospital and extras cover get in contact with us.
What is the Mental Health waiver?
The Mental Health waiver or waiting period exemption enables a person with limited hospital cover to upgrade without serving the usual 2 month waiting period to access in-hospital Psychiatric services.
This exemption can only be accessed by a person once in their lifetime.
To be eligible a person must have served their initial two month waiting period for any psychiatric benefits. If you’re new to frank, you’ll need to have switched within 30 days of your membership ceasing with your previous health insurer.
If you or someone you know needs help please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
