[stephenandjulie]

Hi
I am assuming we will have to get private medical insurance when we arrive in NZ. How much is it on average for a family of four and what does it cover?
Thanks
Julie

[Trigirl]

whether you want health insurance or not really depends on you. there's certainly no requirement for it like in the US.

if you do then cover for a family of 4 at southern cross (one of the major healthcare insurance providers) starts at $77 a month for very basic stuff (pretty much surgery only) and goes up to about $300 a month for an all-in package.

[Park City Partner]

We decided to get coverage and we are covered by Soverign...2 adults and a baby=$102 per month. I would recommend contacting Tim@inform.co.nz. He is a broker that we used and was (and continues to be) VERY helpful. He takes the time to find out what you want/need and then evalutes several different companies (in writing) and helps you choose the best option. It doens't cost you a penny to use him. Good luck

[Juniper]

Wow, even private insurance is affordable! What are the advantages of using private insurance? I think I remember something about getting past surgery wait lists, for one thing...?

[Super_BQ]

Yes with private insurance you definitely can jump the queue. However there's word of caution.

NZ's health care system sorta has like 2 health care systems running side by side. One being the public and other being the private.

The question arises which one is better? Most would assume that private is better because of the shorter waiting time. However I must stress that the level of care during private isn't like so in the US. In some cases, you could be worse off with private care. The private physician may recommend you to a different clinic for operation that does NOT have the latest equipment/tools that a new public hospital does have (as a way to jump the queue for operation)

It's a case where you have 2 systems trying to accomplish the job of 1. There's going to be some inefficiencies. Certainly those that are on the poor end of the scale will suffer more as the private care customers will have higher priority. ie. in the case where there's only 1 MRI scan in town. You still have to contend with the problem that there are several patients that need scans but those on the public care get put back down the queue as more private paying patients move up.

At the end of the day, is the private care system in NZ on par with the US private care system? Though it's not really a fair representation as health care in the US probably costs 10 times more / month. But knowingly there exists better doctors and better hospital equipment in the US... it's like how much $ will you be willing to sacrifice if it was a life threatening surgery?

BQ

[nippa&pippa]

Someone (i think it was tim as mentioned above) suggested to us get medical insurance to cover you for surgery but not for dr appt or hospital appt as it is not expensive, just built up a separate fund in bank for hospital appt, tests etc

[Sam'n'Kelv]

We decided to get coverage and we are covered by Soverign...2 adults and a baby=$102 per month. I would recommend contacting Tim@inform.co.nz. He is a broker that we used and was (and continues to be) VERY helpful. He takes the time to find out what you want/need and then evalutes several different companies (in writing) and helps you choose the best option. It doens't cost you a penny to use him. Good luck

Thanks for this great advice PCP. We contacted Tim and found him extremely helpful. He came up with an excellent base plan with extra cover for specialists and tests for $113 - and we're a family of 6! Excellent.

[Park City Partner]

Great! Tim is super and I frequently recommend him. Glad you are all set now.

[stephenandjulie]

Thanks for the info. I think we will be contacting Tim when we get to NZ.
Julie

[Tia Maria]

One thing to consider when taking out medical insurance is the concept of existing conditions.

The only reason I mention it is that you might have something wrong that is medically non-urgent and consider getting it looked at before emigrating. There is nothing wrong with this if you think you can have it cured, but if you think it might need ongoing investigation in NZ then it might be worth waiting till you arrive, otherwise it might not be covered under your new medical insurance policy.

I wouldn't suggest anyone put off getting something serious checked out as your health is always more important that a few dollars. :yes

But its something worth taking into consideration as Xrays, scans etc can cost a couple of hundred dollars.

Cheers

Tia