Dialysis at Home

Living with chronic kidney disease can mean spending four to six hours in hospital for dialysis, three to four times a week. That’s a big commitment, and we know it can be tough on you and your carers.

Our Dialysis at Home program gives eligible ahm members+ more choice. If your specialist agrees it’s clinically appropriate and it’s available in your area,# you can have nurse-delivered haemodialysis in the comfort of your own home.

What is haemodialysis?

Haemodialysis uses a dialysis machine (sometimes called an artificial kidney) to clean your blood, just like a healthy kidney would. Blood flows through the machine, unwanted waste is removed, and then it’s pumped back into your body.

How the program works

ahm pays benefits towards the Dialysis at Home service, which is delivered by a home-based haemodialysis provider.

To take part, you’ll need to:

Be an ahm member with hospital cover that includes access to Dialysis at Home services (check your product guide)
Have served any relevant waiting periods
Get approval from your treating specialist

Heads up: If you need extra treatment like diagnostic tests or specialist follow-ups, there may be some out-of-pocket costs. An excess may be payable if you have your first treatment in hospital before being referred into the program.

What products is this available on?

elite gold copay

Where is it available?

We’re expanding the program, but right now it’s offered in:

Victoria: Metro Melbourne and regional areas like Bendigo
New South Wales: Metro and outer Sydney, plus regional areas like the Blue Mountains, Port Macquarie and Tamworth
Queensland: Metro Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast

Services are subject to provider availability and coverage may be limited at the time of referral. Please note availability may vary over time.

Want to check your eligibility?

For more info on the program and to check if you’re eligible, call us on 1300 733 338 (Mon–Fri, 9am–4pm AEST) or email medibank.home@medibank.com.au(opens in your email client).

Things you should know

+Members who hold a residential hospital product that includes access to ahm Dialysis at Home, and who have served any relevant waiting periods.

#Not available in all areas. Services are subject to provider availability and coverage may be limited at the time of referral. Please note availability may vary over time .

We hope this info helps, but keep in mind it’s general advice only. It’s not health advice and doesn’t take your personal situation into account. Always chat with a trusted health professional before making decisions about your care. We’ve done our best to make sure everything’s accurate, but we can’t promise it’s complete or up-to-date. If we mention products or services from others, that’s not an endorsement – and we can’t take responsibility for them. For these reasons, we can’t accept responsibility for any loss from acting on this info (subject to consumer guarantees, of course).