Using your health insurance at Lower Limb Dublin
Most Irish health insurance plans include day-to-day cover for visits to a podiatrist, and custom orthotics can qualify under appliance benefits. You pay on the day, then claim back from your insurer with our receipt.
This page explains what VHI, Laya and Irish Life Health typically pay, how claiming works for orthotics, nail surgery and injection therapy, and the 20% tax relief most patients never claim.
Pay on the day, claim back after
Outpatient podiatry in Ireland works on a pay-and-claim basis. No insurer bills clinic visits directly, and no pre-authorisation is needed for day-to-day claims.
Book and pay as normal
No referral is needed to book. You pay the clinic fee on the day, by card or cash, exactly as a self-pay patient would.
Take your itemised receipt
Issued the same day: clinic details, the treating podiatrist's name and registration, the treatment provided and the fee. Everything the claim needs.
Claim through your insurer
Vhi Snap & Send, the Laya app, or the Irish Life Health member portal. Then claim the 20% tax relief on whatever your insurer didn't cover.
Why registration matters: insurers only pay benefits for care from recognised practitioners. CORU is the statutory register for health and social care professionals in Ireland, and care at our Dublin clinic is delivered by a CORU-registered podiatrist. Your receipt carries the registration details insurers look for.
What each insurer typically pays
Benefits vary by plan and renewal date. These are the patterns across published benefit tables, not a promise about your policy: your own table of benefits is always the source of truth.
Vhi
Day-to-day benefits: Chiropodist / Podiatrist combined visits
- Typically €20 to €40 back per visit depending on your plan, within a combined visit limit shared with other allied health professionals
- Custom orthotic insoles are on Vhi's Approved Medical and Surgical Appliances list, currently up to 4 pairs per year, paid at your plan's appliance percentage up to its annual limit
- Claim through the Vhi app (Snap & Send) or a claim form
Laya healthcare
Everyday cover: Chiropody / Podiatry
- Several popular schemes pay 50% of the fee for up to 12 visits a year; others pay a set amount for a smaller number of visits
- Laya requires the treating practitioner to belong to a recognised body: care at our Dublin clinic is delivered by a CORU-registered podiatrist
- Appliance cover is scheme-specific: the approved appliance list is in your Member Area under everyday expenses
Irish Life Health
Day-to-day benefits: Chiropodist visits
- Commonly €30 per visit within a combined allied health visit limit, subject to a small day-to-day excess on some plans
- Shoe orthotics appear on the appliance list at 50% up to €200 per policy year, subject to your policy excess
- The 'Am I Covered' tool in the member portal shows your exact cover before you book
Benefit examples checked against published insurer benefit tables and appliance lists, September 2026. Plans change: confirm your own cover with your insurer before treatment.
The questions we hear most
Assessments and reviews
The Diagnostic Injury Assessment (€160) and Orthotic Assessment (€80) both claim as chiropodist/podiatrist visits under day-to-day or everyday cover. So do review appointments and Swift verruca sessions.
Typical money back per visit: €20 to €40 with Vhi, 50% of the fee on several Laya schemes, €30 with Irish Life Health, each within combined visit limits.
Custom orthotics
Custom orthotics can qualify under appliance benefits, which are separate from your visit benefits. Vhi lists orthotic insoles on its Approved Medical and Surgical Appliances list (currently up to 4 pairs per year, paid at your plan's appliance percentage). Irish Life Health lists shoe orthotics at 50% up to €200 per policy year. Laya's appliance list is in your Member Area.
Every pair of our 3D-printed orthotics comes with a prescription letter and itemised receipt, because insurers can ask for confirmation of medical necessity on appliance claims.
Nail surgery
Nail surgery at the clinic is an outpatient procedure under local anaesthetic: there is no hospital admission, so the hospital side of your policy is not involved and no pre-authorisation applies.
Claims go through the day-to-day chiropodist/podiatrist visit benefit where your plan has one: a contribution per visit rather than full cover. The pre-surgical assessment and the procedure are separate visits, each claimable while you have visits remaining. The 20% tax relief below applies to the balance.
Swift verruca treatment
Swift microwave therapy (€170/session) is a medical treatment for verrucas, not a cosmetic service. Each session claims as a podiatrist visit under day-to-day cover, the same as an assessment visit.
A typical course is 2 to 3 sessions, so a plan with a combined visit limit may not cover every session. Your receipts still count towards the 20% tax relief.
Injection therapy: assessed in Dublin, delivered in Belfast
The Diagnostic Injury Assessment in Clontarf gives you a confirmed diagnosis and a defined treatment pathway. Where ultrasound-guided injection therapy is the right next step, the injection itself is delivered at our Belfast clinics by our founder Paul McMullan (BSc MSc FRCPSGlasg MRCPod), an HCPC-registered podiatrist specialising in ultrasound-guided injection therapy. Belfast is around two hours from Dublin by car or direct train, and many of our Dublin patients make the trip.
Straight answers on insurance for injections
- Irish health insurers pay outpatient procedure fees in full under their professional fee schedules only when a consultant or GP performs the procedure. There is no separate procedure benefit for injections delivered by a podiatrist, whatever the podiatrist's level of training.
- Where your plan includes day-to-day chiropodist/podiatrist visits, an injection appointment with a podiatrist claims as a podiatrist visit: you get the per-visit amount back, not the full fee.
- Travelling to Belfast: ask your insurer first whether day-to-day receipts from a UK (HCPC) registered practitioner are accepted. Policies differ, and Belfast fees are in pounds sterling.
- Revenue's 20% tax relief can apply to qualifying care obtained outside Ireland, including Belfast, where a doctor referred or advised the treatment.
The 20% most patients miss
Separate from health insurance, Revenue gives tax relief at 20% on qualifying health expenses, and podiatry qualifies where a doctor prescribed, referred or advised the treatment. It applies to the portion of your fees that your insurer did not reimburse, and you don't need private health insurance to claim it.
- Keep every receipt: assessments, procedures, orthotics, each Swift session
- Claim through Revenue myAccount, up to 4 years back
- Qualifying care obtained outside Ireland can also be claimed
General information, not tax advice. See revenue.ie for the qualifying health expenses rules.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a GP referral to book or to claim?
You don't need a referral to book, and day-to-day insurance claims generally don't require one either. A GP referral is worth having for one reason: Revenue's 20% tax relief on podiatry costs applies where a doctor prescribed, referred or advised the treatment. If your GP has suggested podiatry, keep a note of it and keep your receipts.
Do you bill VHI, Laya or Irish Life Health directly?
No. Outpatient podiatry in Ireland works on a pay-and-claim basis: you pay the clinic fee on the day, we give you an itemised receipt, and you submit it to your insurer through their app or member portal. There is no direct billing arrangement for clinic visits with any Irish insurer.
I have full cover. Does that mean my visit is free?
Usually not. 'Full cover' on Irish health insurance normally describes the hospital side of your policy: admissions, procedures performed by consultants, hospital accommodation. Clinic visits like ours sit under the day-to-day or everyday benefits section, which pays a set amount or percentage per visit, up to a visit limit. Many members have day-to-day benefits they never use. Check your table of benefits.
I'm on a Vhi AdvancedCare plan. What will I get back?
AdvancedCare is a Vhi plan family, and its day-to-day tables list Chiropodist / Podiatrist visits within the combined visits benefit. Recent published tables show €30 per visit on AdvancedCare Day-to-Day and €40 per visit for up to 12 combined visits on AdvancedCare Extra Day-to-Day. Your own table of benefits is the source of truth for your exact plan and renewal date.
Is there pre-authorisation for clinic treatment?
No. Pre-authorisation belongs to hospital admissions, not day-to-day claims. For clinic visits you simply pay, keep the receipt and claim. The one area where insurers may ask for supporting paperwork is an appliance claim for custom orthotics, where confirmation of medical necessity can be requested. We provide a prescription letter and itemised receipt with every pair for exactly this reason.
What will my receipt show?
Everything a claim needs: the clinic details, the treating podiatrist's name and registration, the appointment type and treatment provided, the date and the fee paid. For custom orthotics the prescription and the supply are itemised. If your insurer asks for anything further, contact us and we'll provide it.
Can I claim for Swift verruca treatment?
Where your plan includes day-to-day chiropodist/podiatrist visits, Swift sessions claim as podiatrist visits: the same per-visit benefit applies to each session. Swift is a medical treatment for verrucas, not a cosmetic service.
Unsure what your plan pays? The fastest route is your insurer's own tool: the Vhi app, the Laya Member Area, or Irish Life Health's 'Am I Covered' tool. Two minutes before you book saves any surprises after.