nib First Choice Physiotherapy

In most cases, no. Physiotherapy is only covered by Medicare if you're treating a chronic and complex musculoskeletal condition requiring specific treatment under Medicare’s Chronic Disease Management (CDM) scheme. As the CDM scheme covers only five services, your Extras cover can be used to continue your treatment where needed.

Extras cover helps with some of the cost for services that aren’t covered by Medicare, such as a visit to the dentist, a new pair of glasses.

Physiotherapy (also known as physical therapy) involves the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions that can be acute (e.g. due to an injury) or chronic (ongoing). A physiotherapist may use manual therapy, ultrasound, TENS, heat treatment and exercise in treating these conditions.

We’ve partnered with a large network of Extras providers who deliver quality care and provide their services at agreed rates* to help lower out of pocket costs for eligible nib members.

As an nib member it’s your choice which Extras provider you visit, but choosing a First Choice network provider means you could end up paying less for the same treatment than you would with a provider outside the network.

Optical providers, dental practitioners and physiotherapists who are part of our network have agreed to No Gap offers and set treatment fees (agreed rates*) which may be lower than their usual fee.

If you have an nib Extras cover with physiotherapy, or an eligible policy sold under third party brands such as GU Health, Qantas Health Insurance, APIA, Suncorp, AAMI, ING Health, Priceline, Real Health Insurance and Australian Seniors, you can access our network of First Choice physiotherapists to get your No Gap initial consultation^ and agreed rates* for follow-up appointments. Log in to your member account or the nib App to check your annual limits for physiotherapy.

Your initial face-to-face consultation for a new condition with a First Choice network physiotherapist will be charged with No Gap^. Follow-up consultations will be charged at the agreed rates with the physio.

If it’s an existing condition you’ve already seen your First Choice network physio for you’ll still benefit from our agreed rates and get between 55% to 75% back, depending on your level of Extras cover.

Most physiotherapy services for follow-up visits are covered, such as telehealth, in-person consultations and group and class treatments.

An annual limit is the total amount you can claim back on Extras, such as physiotherapy. There’s an annual limit on how much we’ll pay for specific treatments and services. In some cases, there’s a limit on the number of times you can claim for Extras over a certain period of time (this is called a service limit).

A higher level of cover gives you higher limits to claim from. They’re calculated per person, per calendar year.

Depending on the level of health cover you choose, you’ll get between 55% to 75% of the cost back on Extras every time you claim, until you reach your annual or service limit.

Once you have reached your limits, you are still able to see your First Choice network physio at our agreed rates*.

You can see any nib recognised provider and make a claim, but by seeing a provider in our First Choice network, you could reduce the Gap (also known as an ‘out of pocket expense’) left between the total cost of your treatment and what we pay.

We only pay for services from nib recognised providers. A nib recognised physiotherapy provider is someone who is registered with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), works in private practice and continues to abide by nib’s Recognised Provider Terms and Conditions for General Treatment.

An agreed rate* is a set price agreed upon by nib and your healthcare provider for certain services or treatments, which may be lower than their usual fee.

Physiotherapists are invited to apply to become part of the First Choice network. To register your interest, fill out this form for Honeysuckle Health.

If your practice meets our criteria, Honeysuckle Health will be in touch for more information.

Honeysuckle Health now manages Hospital, MediGap, GapSure, Clinical Partners, Health Care at Home and First Choice network agreements for nib and health insurance brands underwritten by nib.