Health Insurance for Chiropractic Treatment

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What do chiropractors do?

How much does it cost to see a chiropractor?

Is seeing a chiropractor covered by Medicare?

Does private health insurance cover chiropractic treatment?

How do I choose extras cover for my chiropractic needs?

How do I choose a chiropractor?

Where can I find and compare health insurance?

Long story short

A trip to the chiropractor could take some of the sting from a sore back or neck

Treatments can include stretches, massages, and manipulation, as well as lifestyle advice.

Medicare or your health insurance may cover some of your chiropractor’s bill

But you’ll need to have either a management plan from your GP or appropriate extras cover.

There’s lots to consider when choosing extras cover for chiropractic treatments

This includes benefits, limits, waiting periods, and other health care needs you may have.

What do chiropractors do?

Chiropractors, or chiros, are a type of allied health professional who treat musculoskeletal conditions – which means conditions related to your bones and muscles. To do this, they might offer manipulations and adjustments. Sometimes this is specific force or pressure applied to a joint, or it can be a case of stretching and encouraging mobilisation of the affected area. They might even give you a massage! 

Along with these treatments, your chiropractor may give you advice on your lifestyle, nutrition, ways of movement, and even everyday ergonomics to help get you feeling better again. 

Some people like to see chiropractors if they’re experiencing back or neck pain; headaches; strains, sprains, or overuse injuries; or generally just finding that their movement is restricted by their back, shoulders, neck, or limbs.  

Your GP may recommend you see one, or you may decide on your own that you’d like to go – you don’t need a referral to make an appointment. Seeing a chiro may even be part of a broader treatment program you’re undergoing, along with services from other allied health practitioners, like physiotherapists and occupational therapists. 

How much does it cost to see a chiropractor?

Chiropractors don’t have standardised fees. However, as members of APHRA (Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency), they have a Code of Conduct that specifically mentions financial consent as part of good practice. This means that if they want to do their best as chiro, they should talk to you upfront about their fees and costs for treatments before they start providing any service to you. They also should be happy to provide you with a quote or estimate if you ask. 

If you’re concerned chiropractic services in general might be too expensive for you, you may be able to make an educated rough estimate using a couple of resources.  

For instance, Comcare, the Government’s workers’ compensation and work health and safety arm, offers some guidance on what the upper limit for allied health treatment fees can be. Chiros don’t have to follow these figures, but they could help you judge if a price seems steep or too good to be true.  

The table shows the suggested upper limit of fees for initial and standard or subsequent consultations with chiropractors for workers’ compensation schemes in different states as of February 2025.

Source: Comcare – Rates for medical and allied health treatment 

Note: These fees are based off relevant workers’ compensation schemes. Seeing a chiropractor outside of a workers’ compensation scheme may mean your fees are different. 

Alternatively, you may want to use the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee as your measuring stick. For a 20-minute or longer consultation, the MBS fee is $70.95.¹Department of Health and Aged Care – Medicare Benefits Schedule – Item 10964 Of course, chiropractors are free to charge more than this fee. 

Is seeing a chiropractor covered by Medicare?

You might have spotted that MBS fee above. Technically, Medicare covers chiropractor consultations. However, there’s a hefty ‘but’ to be aware of. 

You need to have a Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plan from your GP that lists seeing a chiropractor as part of your recommended treatment. To get this plan, you’ll need a chronic health condition – that’s one that lasts at least six months.  

Further, even with the plan, only five visits are covered each calendar year. If your GP also puts together a Team Care Arrangements (TCA) plan to go with your CDM, then that five-visit limit is shared between any services you’re referred to as part of your TCA. Theoretically, you could use all five on seeing a chiropractor, or you might only use some for the chiropractor and the remaining to see other allied health professionals.  

The final hoop to jump through is that you can only claim for in-person, individual sessions that are at least 20 minutes long. 

Assuming you meet all of those requirements, you can then get 85% of the MBS fee back. That’s a $60.35 rebate. What’s left to pay out of your pocket could be $10.60 if your chiropractor only charges the MBS rate, or it could be more if they bill at a higher rate. 

Does private health insurance cover chiropractic treatment?

Thankfully, it can be a little easier to get health insurance that covers seeing a chiropractor. You’ll just need an extras policy that includes coverage for chiropractic treatments. What your health insurance covers for chiro can vary depending on the policy and its limits, though.  

For instance, there may be a set dollar-figure paid for each chiro visit, or your benefit could be calculated as a percentage of your chiropractor’s fee. These limits can also vary depending on what kind of chiropractic appointment you had.  

Your limits could also be shared across a range of services. For instance, you may have a shared health insurance limit for chiropractic treatments and osteopathy. If you’re seeing a lot of one practitioner or both regularly, you could hit your limit quickly. 

Additionally, if your extras policy covers more than just you, like your partner or family, you may share limits. This could mean one person uses the chiro limit up before you get a chance to even make that initial appointment.  

Beyond limits, your health insurance may only cover seeing certain chiropractors. If you see one of your fund’s preferred chiropractors, you might only need to pay a little out of pocket (or even nothing at all). Seeing a recognised provider could still mean you can claim on their services, but what you get back may be less than with a preferred provider. Alternatively, some funds or policies may cover you seeing any chiropractor as long as they’re registered with Medicare.  

If you’ve just picked up a policy, or added chiropractic treatments to your existing cover, you might want to double-check your policy documents for any waiting periods. Luckily, your waiting period could be relatively short, often only two months. 

Finally, keep in mind that if you’re hoping to claim with both Medicare and your health cover, it just can’t happen. For these kinds of appointments, you can only pick one type of rebate – Medicare or your health insurance, not both!  

You can, though, opt to use up your five Medicare-applicable appointments, and then use your private health insurance to cover any other chiropractor visits. 

How do I choose extras cover for my chiropractic needs?

If you’re not prepared, trying to compare extras policies for chiro can be a pain all of its own. Luckily, we have a few recommendations for things to check. 

Comparing health insurance would be easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy if there were a best extras policy for chiropractic appointments, or any other medical service for that matter. But the truth is there’s no best health insurance, simply because what tops the list for one person may be the last policy the next person wants. 

But, once you have your policy and that waiting period is ancient history, all policies come out the same in the wash – or close enough – when it comes to claiming.  

Typically, you can swipe your membership card at the end of your chiro appointment, and the claim will be processed then and there using HICAPS.  

If that’s not an option, you can head online and claim, or your insurer might even have an app to make things super simple. All you’ll need to lodge your claim are your provider details and a copy of the receipt. 

Helpful tip:

If you’re having trouble sleeping, standing, or sitting, it’s fair that getting to a chiropractor might be your biggest concern right now. However, your health insurance could help cover a range of other treatments. 

For instance, you could complement your chiro cover with acupuncture, remedial massage, and physio. With coverage for all these services, you could get to the bottom of your back pain – or at least keep it in check. 

Andres Gutierrez

General Manager – Health

How do I choose a chiropractor?

With your extras cover sorted (or at least on your to-do list), it’s time to pick a chiropractor. Sure, you could pick at random, or you might feel a bit more confident about your treatment if you tick off a few things. 

• Get recommendations: Whether it’s your GP, friends and family, or online reviews, you can start your search by asking other people to recommend a practitioner.
• Cross-check those recommendations with APHRA: To work as a chiropractor in Australia, they need to be registered with APHRA and commit to continuing professional development. You can check online if a practitioner is registered.
• Check what services they offer: From treatment types to individual and group sessions, you may have a preference – and you’ll want your chiropractor to be able to provide it.
• Look at their experience: You may want to pick a chiropractor who is familiar with the treatment you’re after or the problem you’re dealing with.
• Consider their location and opening hours: If it’s too hard to get to your appointment – whether it’s the distance or because the clinic is only open during the workday – you might want to cross that chiro off your list.
• Double-check their gender: Many chiropractic treatments can be hands-on, so you want to feel comfortable with the person touching you. Therefore, you may prefer a practitioner of the same gender as you.
• Look at what languages they speak: Medical terminology can be tricky at the best of times, let alone with a language barrier. Finding a chiropractor who speaks your first language may be a priority.
• Learn about their fees: Gather information about what they charge and what you can get back on your health insurance. You can also ask about payment plan options, if you’re concerned about having the funds for treatment.  

After all that legwork, you’ll hopefully have found a winner! 

Where can I find and compare health insurance?

If your fingers are hovering over the call button for your local chiropractor, put the phone down, and take a moment to sort out your health insurance. A policy that offers you great value could mean you can look after your health without always worrying about the bill. 

Thankfully, you can use our online comparison tool to compare a range of policies from different insurers in a matter of minutes. Or, if you’re itching to pick up your phone again, you can also call one of our health comparison experts on 1800 784 772.