How Much Does an Angiogram Cost?

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What is an angiogram?

How much does an angiogram cost?

Are there other out-of-pocket costs for angiograms?

Are there other costs after an angiogram?

How long will I have to wait for an angiogram?

What level of health insurance do I need to cover an angiogram?

Where can I find and compare health insurance?

Long story short

Angiograms help doctors check and treat your blood vessels

Typically, angiographies use an x-ray but sometimes other tech, like CT or MRI scans, are used.

Cost factors include if you need to go into hospital and whether you have health insurance

The type of angiography, and whether you’re a public or private patient, can also affect your out-of-pocket costs.

As a private patient admitted to hospital, you might have a shorter wait for your angiography

Your health fund can help cover your angiogram costs if your policy includes angiography cover, and you’ve served your waiting periods.

What is an angiogram?

An angiogram is a picture taken during an angiography (a scan of your blood vessels) – it’s sort of like a private Instagram account for your blood vessels. 

Typically, angiographies are used to diagnose and help treat abnormal blood vessels, blood clots, and blood vessel blockages. You might also have an angiography as part of a tumour treatment, guiding your doctor as they cut off its blood supply, or to map your blood vessels before surgery. 

Usually, an angiography is done via an x-ray. However, you might have a CT angiography if your doctor wants to see what your coronary arteries get up to as your heart beats. To look at the arteries in your neck and brain, MRI angiographs tend to be the go-to method. 

How much does an angiogram cost?

The costs for an angiography – and, in particular, how much you might need to pay yourself – can vary for lots of different reasons. 

For starters, whether or not it’s an in-hospital procedure (that’s when you’ve been admitted to hospital, even if only for the day) could play a role in how much your angiogram might cost. This matters a lot when it comes to out-of-pocket costs, particularly if you’re hoping to use your private health insurance. Even if angiograms are covered by your hospital policy, your hospital cover only works if you’re admitted to hospital.

As a hospital patient

Public patients can rely on Medicare to cover their bill for an in-hospital angiogram.  

For private patients, Medicare and your private health insurance hospital policy can help cover some of your angiography costs – as long as you are admitted to a hospital for your angiogram (this doesn’t necessarily mean you are staying overnight). You may still have an out-of-pocket cost if your specialist charges more than the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) amount.  

As an out-of-hospital patient

For angiographies outside of hospital of a hospital setting, Medicare also helps pay the specialist fees (it may not cover the full bill, though). It doesn’t matter whether you’re a public or private patient, Medicare lends a hand. 

Unfortunately, you can’t double-dip and use your private health insurance as an out-of-hospital patient. 

While private patients mightn’t be able to rely on Medicare to cover all their angiogram hospital fees, going private might have its advantages. For instance, you can choose your treating doctor. This might help you feel more confident and comfortable with your procedure, particularly if it’s a doctor you’re familiar with. Similarly, you might have a shorter wait as a private patient. Typically, angiograms are day procedures, but if you do need to stay overnight for treatment or observation, you could even enjoy your own private room.

The type of angiograph and which part of the body is being examined also affects the cost. The table shows the typical costs for a conventional heart angiogram, CT coronary angiogram, and MRI brain angiogram procedure. These procedures were all in private settings in 2023–24.

What are the typical out-of-pocket costs for some common angiographs?

Source: Medical Costs Finder – Heart angiogram with or without heart catheterisation; MBS item 57360; MBS item 63101 

Note: These are the amounts patients typically paid for these services, rounded to the nearest dollar. They do not include hospital payments such as excesses, co-payments, or other payments. These fees may vary depending on your situation. Not all patients had out-of-pocket costs; those who didn’t aren’t included in these figures. Data retrieved August 2025. 

Are there other out-of-pocket costs for angiograms?

If you’re a private patient in hospital, you might also have a couple of other out-of-pocket costs for your angiogram, depending on your private health insurance.

For instance, you might have an excess. This is a fee you pay upon admission to hospital, even for day procedures. You’ll have picked how much this was when you took out your hospital policy – if it’s slipped your mind, you can check your policy documents for a reminder. 

Some health insurance policies have co-payments. These are fees for every day you’re in hospital. If you don’t need to stay overnight after your angiogram, you’ll only have the one co-payment to cover (and won’t need to worry about the quality of the hospital food). 

Are there other costs after an angiogram?

Typically, angiographies are part of a bigger treatment plan, so you’ll likely have at least some medical costs after it. 

This could be as simple as another appointment with your specialist to discuss the angiogram results, and to possibly organise further tests and procedures. For instance, now they have a greater understanding of what’s happening inside your body, your doctor might recommend a coronary angioplasty and stent. 

Other costs could come from side-effects of your procedure, like damage to blood vessels, or the blood vessels spasming and creating a blockage. Further treatment and care, like a few more days in hospital, might be needed to get you back on the road to recovery. 

How long will I have to wait for an angiogram?

Your wait will depend on the urgency of your procedure – if it’s an emergency or classed as an elective procedure – and whether you’re a public or private patient. In the hospital system, it’s those sirens blaring, lights flashing situations that get the emergency label. Anything that can wait, even for a little bit, is elective – this includes procedures you need. 

One of the benefits of using your private health insurance to be a private patient is the likelihood of a shorter wait. This certainly appeared to be the case for elective surgery in public hospitals in 2023–24, anyway. The median wait for private patients was only 26 days, compared to the 48-day median wait for public patients.¹Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Admitted patient care 2023–24 6: What procedures were performed? (These numbers are for elective surgeries in general, not just angiograms). While it might only be a couple of weeks difference, when it comes to your health (or finding a loo when you’re desperate), sooner rather than later tends to be preferable. 

Something else to keep in mind, though, are health insurance waiting periods. If you’d like to use your health insurance to help cover your angiography as a private patient, you’ll need to serve the policy waiting periods. The maximum waiting period for a hospital policy that covers an angiography is two months – unless the procedure is for a pre-existing condition. In that case, your waiting period can be as long as 12 months.  

What level of health insurance do I need to cover an angiogram?

Health insurance clinical categories tend to focus on different parts of the body. This, unfortunately, makes things a little complicated when it comes to picking hospital cover that includes angiographies.  

For instance, an angiography that’s looking at the blood vessels in your brain would be covered by a bronze policy. However, if you’re hoping to get an angiogram of your heart, you’d need at least a silver tier hospital policy. 

Ultimately, if you’re hoping to have more kinds of angiographies covered, you might want to pick a higher tier. If you want at least some angiographies guaranteed to be covered without restrictions, you’ll want to pick a bronze policy at minimum.

Helpful tip

Remember, you’re not on you own when it comes to figuring out if a policy covers an angiography. You could always speak to us for more information about the kinds of angiographies your policy covers. If you wanted to be extra specific, you could ask your doctor for the MBS code for your procedure and share that with one of our health insurance comparison experts.

Andres Gutierrez

General Manager – Health

Where can I find and compare health insurance?

Wrapping your head around your health needs is hard enough – throwing in figuring out health insurance can feel a like a step too far. But that’s why we’re here. iSelect can help you compare health insurance policies from a range of health funds in a matter of minutes. You can use our online comparison tool or speak with one of our health comparison experts on 1800 784 772.