Canadian moving to Nelson in less than a month, health care options?

Hi Everyone,

I am a common-law partner of a NZ citizen and got offered a job in Nelson so we are making the move from Canada to Nelson. I will (presumably) be approved for a 2 year working visa as a spouse. This whole job offer and decision to move has all happened withing the last 6 weeks so it's been a flurry of activity around our house trying to get organized.

Now, I know that unless I am eligible to be in NZ for longer than 2 years I will not qualify for publicly funded health care. With the visa I get, I know that I will not have more than 2 years of eligibility to be within the country. Once we get to NZ we are going to apply for PR right away, as I have all the documents (including the certified criminal record check) ready to go. Once this is approved I will be eligible for publicly funded health care.

Now my question is, what are some recommendations for health insurance? I have seen references to southern cross, sovereign, and uniMed. What are your experiences when trying to get a claim from them?

I am female, late 20's, fit, active, and healthy, with no prior medical conditions.

Thank you very much. I appreciate any help I can get right now! :)

Obviously I didn't read your post thoroughly enough so I've edited this because you answered the question I asked in your post. Good luck. :)

I am going to apply once we are in NZ, as there wasn't enough time between finding out he got the job and the scheduled moving date to get approval for PR. This way I can use my medical and CRC from the temporary work permit for the PR application.

Man, you answered that quickly. Hopefully your PR will go quickly. We have private health insurance through my husband's work but we haven't used it. I live about 30 minutes from Nelson, I love it. I wish you all the best.

We have Southern Cross as our private complement to the public system and have made multiple claims for various charges and a few special circumstances. In almost every case they have paid quickly and without argument. There was one issue with my wife's care where they determined it to be a pre-existing condition and we appealed. After a bit of to & fro they changed their decision and covered the costs (something a US insurer *rarely* does, in our experience). Southern Cross even assigned a customer advocate during the "dispute" and she was a great supporter for my wife. We have also used their travel insurance for trips back to the US and they have been easy to deal with for claims related to treatments there (my daughter always seems to end up and A&E...)

if you need suggestions on GPs etc in Nelson, just let me know.

It's early, so I may have misread your posts: The eligibility requirement for healthcare is a 2 year visa or longer...

http://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealan...-years-or-more

This is a great question. We are also looking for a source of NZ based health insurance for someone on a 12 month working visa, as that is probably cheaper than them remaining with their US based provider.