Why you need Health Insurance
We are fortunate living here that we have access to a public health system and a No-fault compensation scheme called ACC. But what happens when these facilities fail us? What happens when our public health system is put under stress, nurses strike, or beds are full? In short, the answer is nothing, nothing is done about Nana’s hip replacement, about uncle’s heart surgery or about your MRI. I am a huge advocate that every New Zealander needs private health insurance and here is why.
Pre Existing Conditions- These conditions or symptoms/treatments that people have suffered prior to applying for the cover. In most cases these are excluded from the cover but can be reviewed or a loyalty benefit may see them re-instated after 3 years. The key here is to get in early, the earlier cover is put in place then the more beneficial and “clean skin” the policy will be. NIB have a special campaign on now covering most pre-existing conditions after three years. Talk to me for me information on this.
Peace of Mind- Reports say that 62% of New Zealanders have taken out health insurance for peace of mind. They want to know that when the rug is swept from out beneath them or they need medical attention that they will be ok. Having the ability to chose when and where to have treatment is very reassuring.
Affordability- Some people will say health insurance can be expensive as you will not need it and pay premiums for nothing. I disagree with this entirely. Firstly, premiums can be controlled through an excess ranging from $0-$10,000. As someone gets older and premiums go up, they can choose a higher excess to cover the ‘big ticket’ items whilst still maintaining all the benefits of health insurance. The costs of surgery can be astronomical and for someone to have $20,000-$50,000 in savings to pay for a hip or knee replacement, or $100,000’s for cancer treatment is just not likely.
In NZ we claim on our health insurance an average 4 times in our lives, that’s a 400% claim rate.
Elective Surgery- Our health system is a wonderful facility we have available to us, but it does have its limitations. You will be covered for any acute services or emergency procedures- meaning if you have a heart attack you can call 111 and be taken to hospital to have treatment. However, if your condition is non urgent then you will be assessed and will need to qualify for elective surgery. You will then go onto a public waiting list (a recent count was over 300,000) where you will wait your turn. If the health system is put under stress from a natural disaster, terror attack, a pandemic or strike then you are more than likely to be pushed further away- meanwhile you continue to suffer and try to function in pain and discomfort.
The luxury and peace of mind to go private will get you back to 100% quicker, back to sport, back to work and your quality of life will return to normal.
Non PHARMAC cover- 6000 drugs are Medsafe approved in NZ but only 2000 of these are subsidised. We often hear about the trial drugs, or the wonder drugs….. well Non PHARMAC cover can pay for this treatment. NZ has a shocking record against other OECD countries for a lack of subsidised drugs. A couple of examples are Skin cancer and Bowel Cancer- the 2 most common cancers in NZ, http://www.cancerindex.org/New_Zealand.
Until 2016 a key drug for curing melanoma, Keytruda had an average cost of $200,000 per patient. A more recent advocate for Non PHARMAC was bowel cancer patient Blair Vining who passed away sadly last year. His story about the importance of Non- PHARMAC cover can be found here. It is worth a read, trust me.
A good health policy can allow up to $500,000 per year in Non PHARMAC cover.
Childrens Cover- I am at the age now where my friends (and myself) are all having babies. To have you child cover by medical insurance can save a family $1000’s and possibly a life. Pre existing conditions are covered as there are none (except congenital conditions) so the claim ability of the cover throughout the child’s life and into adulthood is huge. From as little as $5 per week- less than $1 a day you can cover a child for all acute and elective surgery, all Non PHARMAC cover and all the benefits of health insurance. The best thing is a child will remain a child paying child rates until 21 and in some cases 25. It is an absolute no brainer.
Health Insurance in NZ doesn’t have to be expensive; it doesn’t have to be hard to get- and it should right at the top of your priority list. Take advantage of the current NIB campaign and get you and your family covered.
These days it is so easy to apply- everything can be done online so there is no need for long paper application forms asking millions of questions, or numerous meetings with me.
Simply contact us and we can even do it over the phone or on ZOOM.