Genicular Artery Embolisation
GAE cost & Medicare
What genicular artery embolisation costs depends on where you are treated and the cover you hold. Either way you will have a written estimate in your hands before anything is booked.
Genicular artery embolisation is covered by Medicare in Australia. A GP or specialist referral is needed for the rebate to apply. We are a known gap provider, so any out-of-pocket amount for the procedure is set out in a written estimate before it is booked. The procedure can also be done in a public hospital.
Dr Mihir Desai & Dr Suhrid Lodh
Vascular & Interventional Radiologists · FRANZCR EBIR
Genicular artery embolisation is performed at St George and Macquarie University Hospitals. More about the team →
Your pathways
Where we consult does not depend on your cover. We see patients in the public clinic at St George Hospital and in our rooms at Macquarie University Hospital, and you are welcome in either whatever cover you hold. A consultation in our rooms carries a small out-of-pocket cost. One in the public clinic does not.
What does depend on your cover is the procedure, and even then holding private health insurance does not commit you to a private hospital. If you would rather be treated in the public system, you can be. Whether the procedure suits you at all is a separate question, decided at the consultation.
| With private health insurance | With Medicare | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the procedure is done | Macquarie University Hospital, or the public hospital at St George if you would rather | St George Hospital, Kogarah |
| Referral | Needed for a Medicare rebate | Needed for a Medicare rebate |
| Cost of the procedure | A known gap, set out in a written estimate before it is booked, and we will consider waiving it | Treated as a public patient |
| Typical wait | Shorter | Longer, and it varies with demand |
What being covered by Medicare means here
Genicular artery embolisation is a Medicare-covered procedure in Australia. In practice that covers two separate things, and it helps to keep them apart.
The first is your consultation. A referral from your GP or another specialist is what allows a Medicare rebate to apply to it. You are still welcome to see us without one, but the rebate will not apply. The referral also lets us review your history and your imaging before you arrive, so the consultation can actually settle the question.
A consultation in our rooms at Macquarie carries a small out-of-pocket cost. One in the public clinic at St George does not. That difference is about where you are seen, not what cover you hold: privately insured patients are welcome in the public clinic, and patients without private cover are welcome in our rooms.
The second is the procedure. Where it happens changes who is involved: in a private hospital there is an admission alongside the medical side of the procedure, and your health fund covers that admission. In the public hospital you are treated as a public patient and the question does not arise.
One thing that catches people out. The item numbers for genicular artery embolisation are not the same as the item numbers for a knee replacement. If you or your fund check your cover against knee replacement numbers, you will get an answer that has nothing to do with this procedure. Ask our rooms for the correct numbers and quote those instead.
What to ask your health fund
If you are privately insured, these are worth asking before your consultation. Call our rooms first and we will give you the item numbers to quote.
- Am I covered for this admission? Quote the item numbers we give you, not the knee replacement ones.
- Do I still have a waiting period to serve? This catches people who have recently switched funds or upgraded.
- What is my excess, and does it apply to a day admission? Some policies waive it for same-day procedures.
- Is the hospital an agreement hospital for my fund? Worth asking by name, and the one most often missed.
Your written estimate
We are a known gap provider. Where there is an out-of-pocket amount for the procedure, it is agreed with you and set out in a written estimate before anything is booked, rather than discovered afterwards.
That amount is our fee as the treating doctors, and it is the part we control. It is separate from what the private hospital charges for your admission, which is covered by your health fund and settled between you and them.
Surgery often requires anaesthetic support, which introduces an anaesthetist's fee. That is commonly not required for this procedure, which is done under local anaesthetic with light sedation.
We do not publish a figure on this page, because what applies to you depends on your cover, your policy tier and your excess. So bring your referral and your imaging, and we will go through your whole position with you before anything is booked.
And if that gap is the thing standing between you and treatment, tell us. We are happy to consider waiving it. We think these procedures should be accessible to the people who need them, and we would rather find a way through than have someone go without. Between the private and the public pathway, there is always a way to be treated.
Ask us about your cover
Call our rooms and we will give you the item numbers to quote to your fund, and talk you through the public and private pathways before your consultation.
Common questions about cost and cover
Is GAE covered by Medicare in Australia?
Will I be given a written estimate?
Are the item numbers the same as for a knee replacement?
Do I need private health insurance to have GAE?
Can I have the procedure in the public hospital?
Do I need a referral?
What if I cannot afford the gap?
Can I see you privately if I do not have private health insurance?
Explore more
Written and reviewed by Dr Mihir Desai · Last reviewed August 2026