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Health Insurance for Podiatry
Health Insurance for Podiatry
Written by
Madeline Pettet
Edited by
Andrew Kemp
Reviewed by
Andres GutierrezCompare Health Insurance Policies
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Long story short
Podiatrists help look after your feet and ankles
Your care can include foot care advice, orthotics, wound care and dressings, and even surgical treatment.
Both hospital and extras health insurance can include podiatry cover
Extras cover helps pay for out-of-hospital consults and services, while hospital cover can help pay your hospital accommodation fees when you have podiatric surgery.
Think about your foot health when choosing podiatry cover
You might only have one or two minor issues, or you could have more complex chronic conditions that need regular management and treatment.
What is podiatry?
Podiatry is a type of healthcare that focuses on treating problems with your feet, ankles, and lower limbs. This can include discomfort or pain when walking, like from bunions or flat feet; discoloured nails and ingrown toenails; ulcers, warts, and plantar fasciitis; as well as balance or tripping issues.
A podiatrist helps by offering foot care advice, giving you specialised exercises, providing off-the-shelf or custom orthotics and other corrective devices, helping with wound care, and suggesting basic medicines, like skin creams.
Sometimes podiatrists perform small surgical treatments, like removing ingrown toenails or warts. More invasive or extensive surgical treatments might mean seeing an orthopaedic surgeon instead.
As podiatry is an allied health profession – rather than a medical, dental or nursing profession – you generally don’t need a referral to see a podiatrist.
Does private health insurance cover podiatry?
Private health insurance can cover some of the costs of different podiatric services, including consultations and orthotics. It gets a little more complicated, though, if you’re going to hospital for podiatric surgery.
What podiatric services does hospital insurance cover?
If your private hospital insurance includes podiatric surgery cover, it can help pay for:
- your hospital accommodation fees (you may have out-of-pocket expenses)
- any approved prosthesis for your surgery, like a special brace or splint.
For this health cover to apply, you’ll need to see a podiatric surgeon (a podiatrist who has been further accredited). This level of expertise is rare, however, with only 42 of the country’s 6,210 registered podiatrists in 2024–25 holding the surgeon accreditation, according to the Podiatry Board of Australia.
So, private hospital cover for podiatric surgery doesn’t cover:
- other hospital fees, like operating theatre costs
- medical treatment costs typically (although health funds have the option to).
Podiatric surgeons aren’t allowed to use Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items like typical specialists. This means Medicare can’t cover medical costs, either.
If you’re looking to have more of these costs covered, it could be worthwhile seeing an orthopaedic surgeon instead for the same treatment. Orthopaedic surgeons can claim these MBS item numbers, and your health insurer can cover more of your hospital fees. Your health insurer also needs to cover 25% of the MBS fee for your medical treatment in these circumstances.
What podiatric services does health insurance extras cover?
Extras cover for podiatry often includes cover to help pay for podiatry consultations and common podiatry treatments, like prosthetics and orthotics cover. It works similarly to how other allied health service cover, like physiotherapy and exercise physiology cover, does on extras policies.
How much could podiatry cost with private health insurance?
An initial podiatry consult could cost about $70–$100, while follow-up visits could cost $60–$100, if your podiatrist’s fees are similar to the 2024–25 subsidised podiatry fees published by various Australian Government bodies, including the Department of Health.
Podiatry costs can vary between clinicians and treatments, and so can private health insurance benefits for podiatry. For instance, your policy might pay you $30 for each appointment. So, an initial consult’s out of pocket costs might fall from $70–$100 to $40–$70.
If you have podiatric surgery cover, your health insurance can help pay for some of your hospital accommodation costs. For example, in 2023–24 the hospital costs for a bunionectomy (performed by a specialist, rather than a podiatric surgeon), were $1,700, according to the government’s Medical Costs Finder. While this includes fees for more than just hospital accommodation, it could give you an idea of what your health fund might cover.
When using private health insurance in hospital, remember you might also need to pay a fee upon admission – like an excess of $500.
For more concrete figures, it’s a good idea to simply ask your podiatrist about fees ahead of time. This also gives you the chance to double-check with your health fund about how much you can get back and if you have an excess and/or a copayment.
Helpful tip
Being proactive about your foot health and not ignoring early warning signs can minimise the likelihood of going to hospital for podiatric surgery.
For instance, if caught early, orthotics and special exercises can be enough to handle plantar fasciitis (a tissue inflammation that causes heel pain). However, if left alone, it can become a severe chronic condition requiring surgery.
So, aiming to get the most out of your podiatry extras may help manage some conditions early, possibly reducing the chance that you might need surgery.
Andres Gutierrez
General Manager – Health
Key considerations when choosing health insurance with podiatry cover
Consider your current foot health, including any chronic health conditions, as well as your overall health and medical needs when comparing health insurance with podiatry cover.
For instance, many chronic conditions can affect your feet, like diabetes or arthritis. These conditions can make it more likely you’ll need specialist foot care.
When you’re looking for podiatry cover, you’ll likely find it on mid-tier and top-tier extras health insurance, like super extras. Similarly, it’s mandatory on gold and silver tier hospital policies (although you might find it offered on bronze plus or basic plus cover). Given these levels of cover tend to cover more services, it can be worth thinking about any other health needs you have. Your health insurance doesn’t have to cover just podiatry – it can help you get money back on a range of health care options.
Finally, don’t think you’re done and dusted once you’ve picked a policy. It’s important to regularly reassess your health insurance and check that it’s still meeting your needs. Every year or so, or when your circumstances change, can be a good time to check if another policy offers better value.
Frequently asked questions
Does Medicare cover podiatry?
Medicare typically only covers podiatry services as part of a GP chronic condition management plan. This care plan means you can claim up to five sessions with identified allied health professionals through Medicare. The MBS fee for each session is $72.65 with an 85% rebate of $61.80. However, if your podiatrist doesn’t bulk-bill, you might have further out-of-pocket costs.
Unfortunately, Medicare doesn’t cover orthotics or hospital treatment, as we’ve mentioned above.
How do I claim podiatry services on my health insurance?
You can usually claim podiatry services on your extras health insurance by swiping your membership card through your healthcare provider’s HICAPS machine to claim on the spot, or you can claim later online or via your health fund’s app.
If you go to hospital for podiatric surgery, the hospital usually handles the claim paperwork (although you might need to give them a hand with details about your policy).
Before you make a claim on either your hospital or extras cover, check that your policy covers the service and you’ve completed any relevant waiting periods (these are typically either two or 12 months depending on your cover and circumstances). For extras claims, check you haven’t reached the annual limit for podiatry as well.
Can I claim orthotics through my health insurance?
Some extras policies include orthotics as part of their podiatry cover or as its own separate extra. You might need to serve a 12-month waiting period, though, before you start claiming for them. Depending on your health fund, this waiting period could be shorter.
Where can I find and compare health insurance?
iSelect makes it easy to take the next step on your health insurance journey. In a matter of minutes, we can help you compare a range of health insurance options from different providers. Simply call 1800 784 772 to speak with one of our friendly health insurance comparison experts or use our online comparison tool.
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