Unapproved healthcare services

Updated 27 November 2025

This list of unapproved healthcare services forms part of your Southern Cross health insurance policy (except for HealthEssentials).

The following healthcare services, including healthcare services which are similar to or have alternative names to those listed, are unapproved healthcare services, meaning that they are not covered by Southern Cross.  

This is not an exhaustive list of unapproved healthcare services. To find out if you will be covered for a particular healthcare service you can contact us or your healthcare services provider.  

This list may change from time to time as we continuously review cover for healthcare services and certain technology.  

Please note: The specialty headings used below are inserted for convenience of reference only and in no way define, limit or affect the meaning or interpretation of the list of unapproved healthcare services.

Cardiac

• External counter pulsation therapy
• Insertion of implantable cardiac event monitor (e.g. Reveal device)
• Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) for peripheral vascular disease
• Lead-less pacemaker (Medtronic Micra)
• Minimally invasive aortic valve surgery
• Pacemaker revision or replacement surgery (including appliance and/or surgical adjustments)
• Personalised external aortic root support (PEARS)
• Sutureless cardiac valve and surgery (other than when the valve cost does not exceed the surgically implanted heart valve maximum as listed on the List of Prostheses and Specialised Equipment)
• Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) (other than when using the transfemoral approach)
• Transcatheter mitral valve repair or replacement (e.g. MitraClip, PASCAL)
• Transcatheter tricuspid valve repair or replacement (e.g. TriClip, Cardioband, PASCAL)

Ear, nose and throat (ENT)

• Insertion of bone conduction implant (e.g. BAHA, BONEBRIDGE)
• Cochlear implant and surgeries (except for Primary cochlear implant surgery and initial internal receiver/stimulator only)
• Endoscopic Carolyn’s window
• Eustachian tube injections
• Intranasal phototherapy (e.g. Rhinolight)
• Insertion of LATERA nasal implant
• Laser ear surgery (except for laser mastoidectomy, laser revision mastoidectomy, laser tympanoplasty, laser second look tympanoplasty, laser middle ear adhesiolysis, laser stapedectomy, laser medial canalplasty, and laser myringotomy)
• Restylane Injection Tuboplasty
• Sleep apnoea surgery (except for tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, and adenotonsillectomy)
• Vidian neurectomy

General surgery

• BRAVA assisted breast reconstruction
• Bulking agents including PTQ silicone microspheres
• Colon Capsule Endoscopy
• Colonic chromoendoscopy
• EndoStim therapy
• Endoscopic Full Thickness Resection
• Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)
• Fascia preserving device (FPD) (e.g. Fasciotens)
• Gastroduodenal artery embolisation
• Laser ablation of common bile duct stones
• Laser haemorrhoidoplasty (LHP), with or without mucopexy
• Lloyd release procedure
• Portal vein embolisation
• Spiral Enteroscopy
• SpyGlass Cholangioscopy
• Stretta procedure
• Transanal total mesorectal excision of the rectum (TaTME)
• Video-assisted fistula tract/sinus ablation (e.g. VAAFT, VAAPS)

Gynaecology

• Hymenorrhaphy
• Laparoscopic ovarian vein clipping
• Laser treatment for atrophic vaginal changes (e.g. MonaLisa Touch)
• Laser treatment for urinary incontinence (e.g. FemiLift)
• MRI-guided ultrasound for ablation of uterine fibroids

Imaging

• 123Iodine scan of the thyroid and whole body (Radioactive iodine uptake test, RAIU test)
• 3D volumetric photography
• Breast thermography
• Carotid intima-media thickness test (CIMT)
• Clinical photography
• Complex abdominal doppler ultrasound (e.g. Scholbach Protocol) for abdominal compression syndromes, with or without CT angiography
• CT calcium scoring, except as part of CT coronary angiography (CTCA)
• CT MARS Bioimaging
• Indocyanine green lymphography
• Magtrace lymphatic tracer
• Radionuclide imaging of the GI tract using tauroselcholic acid (75-se; SeHCAT)
• Secretin enhanced MRCP
• TRODAT scans
• Ultra-high frequency ultrasound

Interventional radiology

• Balloon kyphoplasty, vertebroplasty and cementoplasty (except for bone tumours and metastases)
• Cryoablation of central or peripheral nerve (except when used in the treatment of cancer-related pain)
• Prostate Artery Embolisation
• Renal aneurysm coiling
• Renal denervation (RDN)
• Sclerotherapy, embolisation, or clipping for pelvic vein incompetence or pelvic venous congestion syndrome

Neurosurgery

• Embolisation or surgery for cerebrovascular abnormality (including aneurysm)
• Occipital neurectomy and denervation skull base

Oncology

• BioZorb breast implant
• Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT)
• Irreversible electroporation (e.g. NanoKnife)
• Radioligand therapy
• Proton beam therapy
• Rectal spacer (e.g. SpaceOAR Hydrogel)
• Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT)
• Smart seed markers (e.g. Radar SAVI SCOUT, Endomag Magseed, Sirius Pintuition)

• Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) or Drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolisation (DEB-TACE)

Ophthalmology

• BlephEx treatment
• Custom ophthalmology implants, except for prosthetic iris devices and artificial eye implants
• Ellex 2RT ophthalmic laser (other than for the treatment of significant macular oedema)
• Eyelid warming (e.g. Blephasteam, EyeGiene, MGDRx eye bag, LipiFlow)
• Insertion of implantable telescope (e.g. CentraSight)
• Intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy for dry eye treatment
• Microstents and microshunts for the treatment of glaucoma / Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) (except for devices specified on the list of prosthesis and specialised equipment)
• Neural vision correction technology (e.g. NeuroVision therapy)
• YAG laser vitreolysis for vitreous floaters

Oral surgery

• Partial glossectomy using laser

Orthopaedic surgery

• Chitosan-based biomaterial (e.g. BST-CarGel)
• Collagen nerve wrap/conduit (e.g. Neuragen nerve guide)
• Endoscopic spinal surgery
• Interspinous dynamic stabilisation (e.g. Coflex, DIAM, Wallis, X-STOP)
• Multi-level lumbar disc replacement (2 levels or more) 
• Thoracic disc replacement
• Osteochondral grafting (e.g. OATS procedure, Mosaicplasty)
• Robot-assisted orthopaedic surgery (except for Robot-assisted primary total hip replacement and Robot-assisted primary knee replacement; see Affiliated provider-only healthcare services for details of the robot-assisted orthopaedic surgery we cover)
• Sinus tarsi spacer for posterior tibialis reconstruction surgery
• Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) including dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation
• Subtalar implants (e.g. ProStop, BIOARCH)
• Thermosensitive hydrogel (e.g. JointRep)

Plastic surgery

• Abdominoplasty and/or repair of rectus divarication
• Apronectomy/panniculectomy
• Brow lift, except as part of a major facial lesion removal
• Liposuction (except when used for an eligible breast reconstruction or revision surgery)
• Secondary lymphoedema reconstruction

Skin

• Intralesional cryotherapy
• Laser treatment of skin lesions/conditions
• Microwave therapy for the treatment of axillary hyperhidrosis (e.g. miraDry)
• Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
• Phototesting for light sensitive dermatological disorders
• Rhenium Skin Cancer Therapy (Rhenium-SCT)

Tests

• Cxbladder test
• Endocrine stimulation testing
• Gastric alimetry
• Hepatic venous pressure gradient test (HVPG)
• InflammaDry MMP
• Liquid biopsy (e.g. Guardant360, FoundationACT)
• Prenatal tests (except for amniocentesis, maternal serum screening, triple X test and chorionic villus sampling)
• Saline suppression test / Saline infusion test
• Tilt table test

Urology

• Allium prostatic stent
• Drug Coated Urological Balloon e.g Optilume 
• Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS)
• Periurethral bulking agent for urinary incontinence (e.g. Macroplastique) (except for Bulkamid)
• Prostatic urethral lift surgery (e.g. UroLift)
• Renal dialysis
• Resonance metallic ureteral stent
• Temporary implantable nitinol device (TIND) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (e.g. iTind)
• Water vapour therapy for benign prostatic enlargement (e.g. Rezum)

Vascular

• Bleomycin electrosclerotherapy (BEST)
• Covered endovascular reconstruction of aortic bifurcation (CERAB)
• Fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR)
• Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR)

Other

• Acellular dermal matrix / Biological mesh (except when used in breast reconstruction, rotator cuff repair, gastrointestinal surgery, gynaecological surgery, and head and neck surgery)
• Blood injections/transfusions/infusions (except when used for chemotherapy treatment)
• Botulinum toxin injections (e.g. Botox, Dysport) (except when used in the treatment of anal fissures and laryngeal dystonia, or into the bladder, urethra, or pelvic floor in conjunction with a pudendal nerve block)
• Colonic irrigation
• Custom implants, including patient-specific and 3D-printed implants, except for prosthetic iris devices and artificial eye implants, or when used in orthopaedic, cranial, or maxillofacial surgery
• Deoxycholic acid injection (e.g. Belkyra, Kybella)
• ExAblate system
• Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (other than for lithotripsy for the treatment of kidney stones)
• Fat grafting and fat grafts (except when used for an eligible breast reconstruction or revision surgery, or as part of eligible ENT, oral, orthopaedic and neurosurgical procedures)
• Feeding therapy
• Hilotherapy
• Histotripsy
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• Laminoplasty (except for cervical decompression or for resection of intradural tumours or cysts)
• Laser treatment of ingrown toenails
• Limb lengthening using a PRECICE intramedullary lengthening nail
• Oolo-Austin Trigenics (OAT) procedure
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections or Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) treatment
• Photobiomodulation Therapy (PMB) 
• Radiofrequency neurotomy (except for thermal radiofrequency neurotomy of the medial branch nerves of the spine, morton's neuroma, basivertebral nerve ablation)
• Radiotherapy treatment for benign conditions (e.g. plantar fasciitis, heterotopic ossification, pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS), keloid scars, Dupuytren's contracture), except when the radiotherapy for malignant and benign conditions eligibility criteria are met
• Stem cell therapy 
• Therapeutic phlebotomy / Therapeutic venesection
• Transilluminated powered phlebectomy
• Viscosupplementation / Hyaluronic acid injection (e.g. Intra-articular injection of Durolane, Synvisc, Sodium hyaluronate)

Southern Cross Medical Care Society (trading as Southern Cross Health Society) is a licensed insurer and a licensed financial advice provider. For more information about the financial advice service we provide and a copy of our public disclosure statement please visit southerncross.co.nz/disclosure-statement.

Southern Cross Medical Care Society (trading as Southern Cross Health Society) has an A+ (Strong) financial strength rating given by Standard & Poor’s (Australia) Pty Limited. The rating scale is: AAA (Extremely Strong), AA (Very Strong), A (Strong), BBB (Good), BB (Marginal), B (Weak), CCC (Very Weak), CC (Extremely Weak), SD or D (Selective Default or Default). Ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories. Full details of the rating scale are available at www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/about/intro-to-credit-ratings. Standard & Poor’s is an approved rating agency under the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010.