Information about how much it costs to visit a doctor (GP) in NZ
I have been trying to find out some information about healthcare costs today, and while doing so I realised how hard it is to find this information if you're not familiar with the terminology used in the health service here. So I thought it would be useful to pull together some info about the cost of GP visits for those of you who are about to come to NZ or have recently arrived. (Or those, like me, who have been here for a while but haven't really got to grips with how the healthcare system works. :D)
First of all, the fees charged for visiting a GP are not standard because general practices are privately owned, and set their own fees, so when choosing a GP it is worth shopping around if you can, as some practices will be cheaper than others.
It is also worth checking whether or not a practice belongs to your District Health Board’s Primary Healthcare Organisation (PHO). GPs who belong to a PHO get funding from the government to subsidise the cost of GP visits and prescriptions, and if you enrol with the PHO then you will pay less for GP visits and prescriptions. At the medical centre I belong to the fees for a standard GP consultation are as follows:
Enrolled patients:
- Children aged 0 – 5: free
- Children aged 6 – 17: $10
- 18 – 24 years: $30
- 25+: $35
- Prescription medicines: $3
Non-enrolled patients:
- NZ residents: $60
- Non-residents: $80
- Prescription medicines: $15
So you can see that there is a big difference in the charges for people who are enrolled in the PHO and people that aren’t. Information about eligibility can be found here, and how to enrol can be found here.
Most of the District Health Boards publish a list of the fees charged for GP visits by each practice that belongs to its PHOs, and I’ve listed the links to the fees below. I hadn't realised quite how long this list was going to be when I started doing this! If you find any mistakes, please let me know, and I'll correct the info.
(If you are not sure which District Health Board covers the area you live in, or are planning to live in, then check out the maps here.)
Auckland DHB
Bay of Plenty DHB
Canterbury DHB
Capital & Coast DHB (Wellington)
Counties Manukau DHB
Hawke's Bay DHB
- Hawkes Bay PHO (click on “our practices” then the region, then the individual health centre to find the fees)
- Wairoa PHO (fees listed under each practice in menu on right hand side)
Hutt Valley DHB
Lakes DHB (Rotorua) (list of GPs, but no list of fees).
MidCentral DHB
Nelson Marlborough DHB
Northland DHB
Otago DHB
South Canterbury DHB
(click on your area under “find a practice”, then click on the practice name for fee info.)
Southland DHB
- Wakatipu PHO (covering Queenstown and Frankton).
- Invercargill PHO (covering Invercargill City and Bluff).
- Takitimu PHO (covering Western Southland including Winton, Riverton, Tuatapere, Te Anau and Otautau).
- Hokonui PHO (covering Eastern Southland including Gore, Mataura and Lumsden).
Tairawhiti DHB (Gisborne)
Taranaki DHB
Waikato DHB
Wairarapa DHB
Waitemata DHB
West Coast DHB (no info on fees)
Whanganui DHB
