Australia’s largest private health insurer, Medibank, has launched a first-of-its-kind funding program for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD as part of its ‘innovative psychotherapy program’. That makes it the first payor in the country to back psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

The AUD $10 million (~USD $6.5 million) investment will fund patient access to MDMA therapy, as well as a long-term outcomes and health economics study led by researchers at the Australian National University (ANU). The MDMA pilot is part of a broader AUD $50 million mental health cash injection aimed at improving care models across the country.

In the first instance, Medibank has partnered with psychedelic care delivery company Emyria to pilot the program. We spoke to its founder and Executive Director, Michael Winlo, to learn more about the program.

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Reporting by Josh Hardman

Since Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) took the surprising decision to reschedule MDMA and psilocybin in 2023 (for PTSD and treatment-resistant depression, respectively), access has proven to be a real bottleneck.

As seen in other jurisdictions that have sidestepped traditional pharmaceutical routes to market, such as Oregon and Switzerland, early access schemes have raised major questions about affordability and insurer participation. Put simply: Without payor coverage, psychedelic therapies remain accessible only to a wealthy few…

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