Does Health Insurance Cover Varicose Vein Treatments?
Varicose Vein treatments are covered by most medical insurers where medical necessity criteria apply.
Palm Clinic is an affiliated provider to Southern Cross Healthcare and a First Choice Provider to NIB Medical Insurance which means Palm Clinic does all the paperwork for you to have your treatment covered. The medical necessity criteria means that the varicose veins generally need to have symptoms such as aching or skin problems such as varicose eczema, lipodermatosclerosis, varicose ulcers or swelling around the feet and ankles to be covered by insurance.
Most other insurers such as Sovereign, Unimed and others also cover varicose vein treatments. We recommend you contact your health insurer (other than Southern Cross Healthcare and NIB) to arrange for prior approval.
Spider vein treatment is regarded by medical insurance companies to be a cosmetic treatment and is therefore not covered by medical insurance. It is important to note however that if you do have symptoms related to spider veins it may be because there are underlying varicose veins that are not visible on the surface. These can be detected by an ultrasound and may be covered by insurance, so we recommend an ultrasound map for all patients with vein problems.
It is not necessary to have a general practitioner referral for varicose vein treatment at Palm Clinic but some medical insurers do require a letter from your GP for prior approval purposes.
