Prescriptions and Dr. Visits

SoCal Gal · Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 12:39 pm Post subject: Prescriptions and Dr. Visits

Can any one give me a general idea about how much one would pay for a standard doctor's office visit? And does any one know of a listing of common medications and their costs? I now have a co-pay through my insurance for $5 per prescription, but I have seen the "real" prices of antibiotics and other standard medications, and they could reach into the hundreds! This is in the U.S., but I am curious if NZ medicine prices are considered high for those without health coverage. Any info would be much appreciated.

JCM · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2004 7:29 pm Post subject:

Hi Socal,

Prescriptions cost around $15 each regardless of the drug, I believe. Adults pay around $40 - $45 for a visit to their doctor.

SoCal Gal · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 4:07 am Post subject: Prescriptions and Dr. Visits

Thanks very much for the info! Just trying to limit sticker-shock surprises $$$ :-)

JCM · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 3:48 pm Post subject:

Yes, quite right.

I was just thinking, when I quote dollars, would you, coming from the USA, know that I'm meaning NZ$, or is there a danger that you could at first think in terms of US$? Shy

Robert · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 8:33 pm Post subject: doctor costs

The costs per visit to a GP are as JCM says - averaging $42 in the christchurch area.
This is all set to change in July though when new rules regarding subsidy come in to force and the minister for health gets control of maximum fees. No-one (least of all the local GPs) really seems to know what the outcome will be. Watch this space....

Beware of out of hours centre costs - these can be very high. Examples:

Attend Out of Ours centre (adult, resident), $60 (extra for nights and tourists) even more if you are not registered with a local member GP.
Chest x-ray $70 x-ray (due to accident) $25
Ultrasound $130
ECG $10
Ambulance transfer - from $50

These are tiny by European standards but put off a lot of locals. A free service is provided from public hospitals but there can be very long (up to 8 hour) waiting times. British people tend to be horrified, Americans just laugh at the prices....

One of each main class of drug tends to be partly or fully subsidised by the government (pharmac agency) and so most conditions are easily treated with reasonably priced medication. There are also schemes to help those who need a lot of prescriptions or doctors visits each year and those on low incomes (16k for a single up to 55kpa if you have 5 kids)

Around 35% of kiwis have private healthcare insurance but this generally covers surgery only.

Hope this helps

Rob

SoCal Gal · Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 5:10 am Post subject: Prescriptions and Dr. Visits

Thank you, Robert, this is wonderful detail. The kind of thing you don't want to use, of course, but keep in your back pocket. And thank you, JCM, I do try to think in Kiwi dollars first, but can get confusing. Embarassed