Is Rhinoplasty Covered by Insurance?

Find out if your nasal surgery is covered — free, and usually the same day. Fill out the short form below and our insurance team will check your benefits and tell you exactly what your plan covers before you commit to anything. There’s no cost and no obligation.

A rhinoplasty performed only to change the shape of your nose is cosmetic, and it isn’t covered by insurance. When surgery is also correcting a breathing problem — a deviated septum, a collapsed nasal valve, or damage from an old injury — the functional portion, called a septoplasty or septorhinoplasty, may be covered when your plan’s criteria are met.

Who May Qualify for Insurance-Covered Rhinoplasty

You may be a candidate for coverage if you have:

Chronic nasal obstruction that makes breathing through the nose difficult, especially during exercise or sleep
A diagnosed deviated septum, confirmed on exam or imaging
Nasal valve collapse — the sidewalls of the nose pulling inward when you inhale
A nasal injury or old fracture that changed how you breathe, not only how your nose looks
Symptoms that haven’t improved after trying nasal sprays, antihistamines, or other medical treatment

Cosmetic concerns on their own — a dorsal bump, a wide tip, a size or profile you’d simply prefer to change — do not qualify for coverage, no matter how much they bother you. Dr. Ruya Zhao, who performs rhinoplasty at ME Plastic Surgery, will tell you plainly at your consultation which parts of your case are functional and which are cosmetic.

What Insurers Look For: Documentation

Insurers want a paper trail showing your surgery treats a medical problem, not a preference. Typically that includes:

Notes from an ENT or allergy evaluation documenting the obstruction
A record of failed medical management — usually a documented trial of nasal steroid sprays, antihistamines, or decongestants over several weeks that didn’t relieve your symptoms
Imaging, such as a CT scan, showing septal deviation, turbinate enlargement, or sinus involvement
A physical exam finding, sometimes with photos, documenting nasal valve collapse
A description of how the obstruction affects daily life: disrupted sleep, snoring, exercise intolerance, recurrent sinus infections, or nosebleeds

You don’t have to assemble this yourself. Our team gathers it from your consultation, exam, and any prior ENT or allergy records, and submits it directly to your insurer.

How Our Insurance Verification Works

Before you schedule anything, we check your plan for you — free, and usually the same day you ask. We review your benefits, tell you what your specific plan requires for functional nasal surgery, and, if you decide to move forward, submit the request and follow up with your insurer until you have an answer.

Insurance Plans We Work With

We work with Aetna, Cigna, EmblemHealth (GHB/CBP and NYC), Meritain, Oxford, and UnitedHealthcare, along with other plans we can check on request. Contact us with your insurance information and we’ll verify your specific nasal-surgery benefits before you commit to anything.

We do not currently accept Medicaid-managed plans (including UnitedHealthcare Community Plan or Blue Cross plans starting with JLJ), TriCare, Amida Care, Fidelis, Oscar, or MetroPlus.

Functional vs. Cosmetic Rhinoplasty: What’s the Difference

Cosmetic rhinoplasty reshapes the bridge, tip, or profile for appearance — narrowing a wide tip, smoothing a bump, refining the angle. This is not covered by insurance. Functional rhinoplasty (often called septorhinoplasty) corrects a structural problem that blocks airflow. The two are frequently part of the same conversation: many patients have both a breathing problem and an aesthetic goal, and Dr. Zhao can evaluate and, where appropriate, address both.

Septoplasty, Septorhinoplasty, and Nasal Valve Repair

Septoplasty straightens a deviated septum — the internal wall between your nostrils — to open the airway. This is the most common functional procedure and is typically the part of your case reviewed for coverage.

Septorhinoplasty combines septoplasty with reshaping the external nose, when the septal deviation also affects the outside shape. The functional, breathing-related portion may be billed to insurance, while any additional aesthetic reshaping is billed separately as a cosmetic fee.

Nasal valve repair reinforces the sidewalls of the nose, often with cartilage grafts, when they collapse inward on inhale — a common cause of obstruction after a prior rhinoplasty or from naturally thin cartilage. Documented valve collapse on exam is typically required for this to be considered.

Rhinoplasty After a Nasal Fracture or Trauma

If an old injury left your nose crooked, obstructed, or both, insurance may cover correction of the resulting breathing problem. Insurers generally want documentation connecting your current obstruction to the injury — old imaging or records if you have them, plus a current exam confirming the deformity is affecting airflow, not only appearance.

Combined Functional and Cosmetic Rhinoplasty: What’s Billed to Insurance

Many patients want to correct breathing and appearance in the same operation. When that’s the case, the functional portion — the septoplasty, valve repair, or trauma correction — may be billed to insurance, while the aesthetic reshaping (narrowing the tip, smoothing a dorsal bump, refining the profile) is billed to you directly as a cosmetic fee. Your consultation and our insurance verification will spell out, in writing, which parts of your case fall into each category before you schedule surgery, so there are no surprises on the day of your procedure.

FAQ

Does insurance cover rhinoplasty?

Not for cosmetic goals alone. When the surgery also corrects a functional problem — a deviated septum, nasal valve collapse, or trauma-related obstruction — the functional portion may be covered. A consultation with Dr. Zhao determines which category your case falls into.

How do I get rhinoplasty covered by insurance?

Start with a consultation and exam. If Dr. Zhao identifies a functional problem, we document it — ENT notes, imaging, and a record of prior treatment that didn’t resolve your symptoms — and submit it to your insurer as part of your free verification.

Is a nose job covered by insurance?

A “nose job” for appearance alone is a cosmetic procedure and is not covered. If breathing is also affected, the functional portion of the surgery may qualify under your plan’s criteria.

Is septorhinoplasty covered by insurance?

The septoplasty portion — straightening the septum to improve breathing — may be covered when documented. Any additional reshaping of the external nose for appearance is billed as a cosmetic fee.

Does insurance cover rhinoplasty for a deviated septum?

It may, when the deviation is diagnosed on exam or imaging and is causing documented breathing problems that haven’t responded to medical treatment. This procedure is typically billed as a septoplasty.

What if my case is both functional and cosmetic?

That’s common. We separate the two: the functional work is billed to your insurer, and the cosmetic reshaping is billed to you directly, with both explained before you schedule.

How long does insurance verification take?

Verification is free and usually completed the same day you contact us.

Verify Your Coverage

Find out what your plan covers before you commit to anything. Contact ME Plastic Surgery online for a free, same-day insurance verification, or call (212) 774-7715 to speak with our team.

Free Insurance Verification