Health Insurance New Zealand
Why Have Health Insurance?Health is your biggest asset. If you become very sick or suffer ongoing severe pain, everything else becomes insignificant. Your health, not your car or home, is your biggest asset.
Hospital treatment is free in New Zealand. You do not need health insurance and seventy percent of New Zealanders manage without it. So, why do thirty percent of New Zealanders pay good money for what they can get free from taxpayer-funded healthcare?
You don't lose access to public healthcare when you take private insurance
Firstly, healthcare in New Zealand is not either/or. People who have private health insurance are also entitled to free public health services. The can generally decide which system they would prefer to use for any specific treatment.
No need to wait
The government does not have enough money to provide instant hospital treatment for everyone. There are waiting lists. People have died waiting to be treated and thousands of people wait more than six months before they see a specialist. Then, after finally receiving a diagnosis, they are placed on yet another waiting list for treatment.
In August 2008, Age Concern New Zealand surveyed its members about waiting times for hip and knee replacements and cataract removals. The majority knew at least one person waiting for surgery. Wait times were:
- Hip replacements: 2 months to 2 years.
- Knee replacements: 3 months to 10 years.
- Cataract removals: 1 month to 3 years.
Typical costs of
private procedures in New Zealand* are:
| Procedure | Cost NZ $ |
| Prostate removal (cancer) | 8,000 - 13,000 |
| Angioplasty - without stents (heart surgery) | 13,000 - 15,000 |
| Hernia Repair | 2,400 - 6,000 |
| Cataract removal (eye surgery) | 3,500 - 4,000 |
| Gall Bladder | 5,000 - 8,500 |
| Total hysterectomy (surgery) | 5,000 - 8,000 |
| Hip or Knee replacement | 15,000 - 22,000 |
| Cardiac bypass (heart surgery) | 30,000 - 40,000 |
* As at February 2008.
What sort of policy?
With a health insurance policy, you can bypass waiting lists and receive much timelier treatment.
Make sure your policy gives you 100% cover on all the big-ticket items. Many treatments such as hip or knee replacements or heart surgery cost over $10,000, so choosing a cheap policy that covers only a certain percentage of the costs may prove to be a false economy. If you end up having to pay 20% of a $30,000 bill, you will rue the day you didn't cover yourself 100%.
One way to cut your payments that still leaves you in total control is to opt for an excess on your policy. This means that you agree in advance to pay a fixed amount on any claim. For example, you could lower your premium by taking an excess of $500 or even $1,000. The important feature of the excess is that it is a controlled, fixed amount rather than a percentage of, potentially, a very large medical bill.
I'm young and in the best of health - why bother?
The worst time to buy insurance is when you're sick. In fact, it's likely you'll not get cover if you're already sick. If you buy health cover when you're healthy, the cover will usually remain unchanged with time.
References and Further Reading
Waiting Lists in New Zealand Health Care
New Zealand Health Care