health insurance.. is it all that?

[slavvie]

What sort of insurance cover would a sensible person have. Two adults and two children it would be needed for and how much would it cost? cheers guys

[Fern01]

Depends on what kind of cover you want, and of course the younger you are the cheaper the premium. Plus any existing health problems can be excluded, you can be sure they have themselves well covered.
We had insurance for years, never had to use it, then as time went on the premiums got steeper and steeper, in the end we had to let it lapse, as it turns out it was wasted money.

[slavvie]

So what would happen if you had a serious illness or even a broken leg?

[Fern01]

The public health system would cover it. There are times when there is a long waiting list for some health conditions, hence the reason some people get health insurance, but for a serious illness or broken limbs you're at the top of the list.

[Fern01]

I should say having a broken limb ,a person goes straight to A&E (accident and emergency) at the local hospital and they are attended to as soon as possible as with other emergencies.

[slavvie]

So it is pretty much the same as the UK really

[JandM]

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...ntpack/health/ Here's a page with links to explain all aspects of the NZ health service. There are variations in how much it costs to see a GP and for GP's prescriptions - do a Search on this site for old threads where people have shared what to look out for when signing up to get one of the cheaper ones - but if you need to be referred on from a GP, most services are free.

[GrumpyGoat]

We are a family of 4 with 2 small children and we don't have any supplemental insurance. But we are from the US--where "insurance" doesn't really cover anything and costs a fortune.

We are really happy with the standard NZ coverage. Better than what we paid $1500/month for in the US (self employed).

(when I worked as a teacher, our premiums were $750 a month because we had "group coverage" but it still didn't cover anything)

[NJ2NZ]

National health coverage is a major consideration for our wanting to move to NZ. Until OH got a job that offered health insurance, like Grumpygoat, I was shelling out $1,200 a month for less than average insurance and what's most annoying - at the end of each year the insurance company'd come up with a hefty premium increase, but generously offer to keep it at the same level if I accepted a reduction in services! Together with exclusions, deductions, co-payments, etc., this insurance was more a source of aggravation that of comfort. With emergencies treated as such, I'm willing to patiently wait for my turn in a health care system that cares for all. I'm also willing to let a GP decide when I need to see a specialist, or what medications to take. Here in the US, doctors and patients alike are hostages to aggressive TV commercials touting expensive medicine and urging patients "ask their doctor" about it - pity the doctor who doesn't succumb to such pressures and her patient for one reason or another gets sicker - there's no faster way to face a million dollar lawsuit. Deep breath! - no, its still not totally out of my system!

[GrumpyGoat]

National health coverage is a major consideration for our wanting to move to NZ. Until OH got a job that offered health insurance, like Grumpygoat, I was shelling out $1,200 a month for less than average insurance and what's most annoying - at the end of each year the insurance company'd come up with a hefty premium increase, but generously offer to keep it at the same level if I accepted a reduction in services! Together with exclusions, deductions, co-payments, etc., this insurance was more a source of aggravation that of comfort. With emergencies treated as such, I'm willing to patiently wait for my turn in a health care system that cares for all. I'm also willing to let a GP decide when I need to see a specialist, or what medications to take. Here in the US, doctors and patients alike are hostages to aggressive TV commercials touting expensive medicine and urging patients "ask their doctor" about it - pity the doctor who doesn't succumb to such pressures and her patient for one reason or another gets sicker - there's no faster way to face a million dollar lawsuit. Deep breath! - no, its still not totally out of my system!

{{{hugs}}}}

I totally understand!!!

It's funny how "little" (in terms of medical coverage) can make an american happy.

I know people have cited "less wait" as a reason to get private insurance but we would be HAPPY to wait! Heck, we have actually been waiting to get out of the US and settled in NZ to try to address one (particularly minor but irritating) issue.