Funded Insomnia & Sleep Therapy Options

Private Health Insurance for Insomnia and Sleep Therapy

Many private health insurance policies in New Zealand offer partial or full cover for psychological services with a NZ Psychology Board registered psychologist. This can include our services such as CBT-i therapy for insomnia and psychologist-led treatments for other sleep disorders.

• Check Your Policy: We strongly advise you to review your individual health insurance policy documents and contact your insurer directly to understand your policy provisions. Insurers and policies differ widely and we will not be able to help with your policy. Only your insurer can tell you:

  • Your level of cover for psychological consultations or insomnia therapy.

  • Any annual limits or per-session caps for sleep therapy or working with a sleep psychologist.

  • Whether a GP referral is required for your claim.

• Private Health Insurance Funding Process:

  • Contact your insurer and check your eligibility for cover under your policy for services from a registered psychologist.

  • Clarify your insurers process for funding (will they reimburse you after you pay us, will they require we invoice them and pay us direct). We will not accept bookings without clarity over how treatment is paid for.

  • If you are approved, send us the document that outlines how your treatment will be covered (do we need to invoice etc) or have the insurer contact us direct with that information;

  • Talk to us about availability of sleep clinicians for funded treatment

• Our Services: The Better Sleep Clinic can provide you with invoices and, where required, service descriptions for your CBT-I or other sleep therapy sessions for you to submit to your insurer for reimbursement.

• Affiliated Providers: Most insurers are moving away from “affiliated provider” systems to a more flexible system that gives policy holders more choice. Generally, most will pay for the services of a psychologist registered with the NZ Psychologists Board. We have worked with in the past include AIA Insurance NZ, Unimed NZ / Accuro Health Insurance NZ, NIB Health Insurance, Southern Cross Medical Insurance (Ultracare plan only), and NZ Medical Indemnity Insurance.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) for Insomnia & Sleep Support

Many larger New Zealand employers offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to their staff. EAP programs provide confidential access to a limited number of funded counselling or therapy sessions for various wellbeing concerns, including support for insomnia and sleep issues.

• Check with Your Employer First: The first step is to check with your HR department or your internal employee benefits portal to see if your company offers an EAP and who the provider is.

• Clearhead EAP for Sleep & Insomnia:

  • The Better Sleep Clinic is a provider for Clearhead, a popular EAP provider in New Zealand. Unlike many other EAP providers, Clearhead is flexible enough to offer support for conditions like insomnia and other psychological therapies we offer such as EMDR, CBT and ACT.

  • Clearhead is utilized by employees from a diverse range of organizations, including some of NZ’s most well known corporates including Z Energy, Sharesies, Foodstuffs North Island, Entain, Spark, Employment Hero customers, abi-rehab, and many more.

  • Accessing Services via Clearhead for Insomnia Therapy:

    1. Confirm your eligibility and access process for insomnia support through your employer's HR team

    2. Obtain an approval or booking code from Clearhead if required for your sleep therapy sessions.

    3. Search us on the Clearhead platform under “Dan Ford” or contact Clearhead if you need help locating us in their system

• Instep EAP for Sleep & Insomnia:

  • We have a special contract with Instep EAP and can be accessed under special circumstances with your employers agreement. Menopause & Wellness support is via Instep via your employer.

  • Accessing Services via Instep EAP for Insomnia Therapy:

    1. Confirm your eligibility and access process for insomnia support through your employer's HR Team

    2. Talk to Instep EAP and request our sleep and insomnia therapy services

    3. Instep will contact us to make further arrangements and we will get in touch

• Other EAP Providers For Insomnia Support:

  • Request our service. If we aren’t available ask them to contact us so your EAP provider can offer specialist sleep disorders therapy services at no cost to you.

ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) Funded Insomnia & Sleep Therapy

If your insomnia or sleep problems are related to an accident or injury covered by ACC, you may be eligible for funded therapy sessions.

• Who might be eligible for ACC funding? Individuals with an accepted ACC claim where sleep disturbances or insomnia are a consequence of:

  • A physical injury (e.g. Traumatic Brain Injury).

  • A sensitive claim (e.g., for issues like PTSD that significantly impact sleep and can lead to insomnia).

  • Mental injury directly caused by certain criminal acts or workplace events, often resulting in insomnia.

• Our ACC Status: The Better Sleep Clinic holds an ACC accreditation number but we are outside the ACC system. This means we can provide therapy for insomnia and other sleep conditions under ACC claims but you will need to talk to your case manager (not us) and have the case manager approve and arrange treatment with us.

Process for ACC Funded Treatment:

1. Ensure you have an accepted ACC claim number.

2. Talk to your case manager about insomnia treatment or sleep disorders therapy with us and get their approval.

3. A referral from your GP or specialist may be required for some claims. They can contact us as needed.

4. Ask your case manager about next steps and get in touch with us when indicated

5. Often you will be funded for an assessment session initially. Once we provide a report and recommendation for required sessions you will gain approval for further sessions.

Work and Income (WINZ) Support for Sleep Therapy Costs

Some individuals may be able to receive financial assistance from Work and Income (WINZ) to help with healthcare costs, including therapy for persistent insomnia.

• Potential Support: The Disability Allowance is one form of WINZ support that some clients have used to contribute towards insomnia therapy costs. You must meet WINZ determined specific eligibility criteria related to a health condition or disability (including mental health conditions like chronic insomnia, anxiety, depression). We are registered psychologists under the NZ Psychology Board and therefore meet WINZ requirements to have our service subsidised if you meet other WINZ criteria.

• Process:

  1. You will need to discuss your situation directly with WINZ to determine eligibility for support towards your sleep treatment.

  2. You will need the appropriate form signed by your case manager and GP.

  3. Talk to us about availability of sleep clinicians for funded treatment and forward us the signed form

  4. The Better Sleep Clinic can complete the necessary documentation regarding your insomnia treatment needs (or other sleep disorder) for you to include with your WINZ application.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Funded Insomnia & Sleep Therapy

Do I need a GP referral for funded insomnia therapy?

This depends on the funding source. For some ACC claims related to sleep and insomnia, a referral may be needed. Some private insurers might require it for insomnia treatment. EAPs often don't for initial sessions. It's best to check the specific requirements of the funding body you intend to use for your sleep therapy.

How many sessions of insomnia therapy will be funded?

The number of funded sessions varies greatly. ACC has specific guidelines. EAPs typically offer a set number of sessions per year (e.g., 3-6) which can be used for CBT-I for insomnia. Private insurance will depend on your policy limits for psychological therapies. We can discuss typical treatment lengths for insomnia of the nature you are experiencing.

What if my funding runs out before my insomnia treatment is complete?

If your approved funding covers a limited number of insomnia therapy sessions, we will discuss this with you as you approach that limit. We can explore options such as applying for further funding (if possible), transitioning to private payment for continued CBT-I, or adjusting the treatment plan.

Can The Better Sleep Clinic apply for funding for my sleep therapy on my behalf?

Generally, the application for funding (especially for WINZ or initial EAP/Insurance approval for insomnia treatment) needs to be initiated by you. However, in some cases we can provide supporting documentation (where it is not overly burdensome on us) and invoice directly to some funders like ACC or approved EAPs once eligibility for funded sleep therapy is confirmed.

What if I'm not eligible for any funding for my insomnia?

We understand that not everyone will be eligible for funded insomnia therapy. We offer private payment options for our services. Please see our [Link to your Fees/Services Page] for more information on consultation costs for CBT-I and other sleep treatments.

Take the Next Step Towards Funded Sleep & Insomnia Relief

If you have questions about specific funding options for treating your insomnia or other sleep concerns at our clinic, please do not contact us until you have talked directly with the funding provider as that is generally the first thing we will tell you to do. If you’ve done that, then please reach out and we will do what we can to help you access the support you need for better sleep.