Physiotherapy Insurance - why so confusing?
Pretty much all physio providers where you are in the country will accept insurance payments. Here at Kaizen Physiotherapy & Performance, we often get asked about which insurance providers we work with before our clients commence their journey with us. It’s also common for our clients to complain about the challenges and confusion around getting their claims organised!
So that’s been our inspiration for this new short blog. Allowing us to explain the benefits of insurance and how the process works.
For the individual, insurance helps provide cost-effective physiotherapy treatment. Rather than paying a large sum of money per appointment, your payments are spread over the duration of your coverage. Allowing you to access services for a reduced cost or for “free” at the time of usage.
An additional benefit is the increased speed for being reviewed, with an easier access to other services, such as podiatry or an orthopaedic specialist review. This ensures that you can obtain a comprehensive treatment. Most insurance providers will also accept most treatment adjuncts as part of physiotherapy. This includes combining physio with acupuncture, massage and shockwave therapy.
How does health insurance work for physiotherapy treatment claims?
The first, and rather obvious, step is to contact your insurance provider to explain your problem. You should then be informed of what the next steps are by your insurer which may consist of a screening appointment (virtual or in person) with a GP, or approval of a certain number of sessions for physiotherapy. They should also provide you with a claim number (sometimes known as an authorisation code), this is usually different from your membership number.
After you have the authorisation code and number of sessions, you can contact your physiotherapy provider with the above details, as well as your name, date of birth and full address. This will allow your provider to directly invoice the insurance company. Occasionally, your insurer will ask you to pay and reimburse you through receipts.
At Kaizen Physiotherapy & Performance, we accept the following insurances:
WPA
Cigna
Healix
Aviva
Vitality
AXA, including AXA international
Bupa
How much do insurance companies pay towards physio appointments?
A big part of the confusion lies with how much insurance companies pay for appointments. Unsurprisingly, each company pays different amounts. Some, like AXA and Aviva, pay a reduced amount. Because of this, most physio clinics can only offer 30 minute appointments. However, here at Kaizen, we are also able to offer a subsidised top-up, allowing you to have an hour appointment if you feel this would suit you better.
Hopefully this blog has helped answer any questions regarding private physiotherapy and insurance claims. If at any point you are having any difficulties on how to manage your claim, we are always happy to speak and advise you over the phone.