Healthcare in New Zealand

Hi Julian;

As you might expect, you have asked a complicated question. 

The NZ govt provides universal health care coverage for citizens and residents.  The main web site is here: http://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system

Immigrants can enter the system a couple of different ways depending on what kind of visa they get.  I think the most simple way to explain it is that if your visa allows you to stay for more than 2 years, you are eligible for the govt health care system. 

There is an eligibility guide here: http://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-h … services-0

There is a good FAQ here: http://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-h … umers#Work visa or permit

If you are not eligible or are here for less than 2 years you can buy travel insurance from a few companies.  I used a company called UniCare but there is also Southern Cross: https://www.scti.co.nz/visitnz/public.aspx

The rest of this response is purely my opinion, as I am not even in the system yet so this is just from talking to Kiwis over the last 9 months.

The health care is certainly first world and mostly excellent, especially for emergency and preventative care.  The cost is very low (the trade off is high taxes, of course), for example doctor visits are $20-$75, and prescriptions are less than $10. Where there are complaints are in the area of trying to get elective services such as a knee surgery or a hip replacement.  You might wait a long time for that kind of thing. 

Thus, there is a secondary market for health insurance that is a monthly subscription and allows you to access a wide range of services without waiting.  Southern Cross seems to be the biggest company providing these supplemental plans.  A good page to visit is here: http://www.southerncross.co.nz/society/ … plans.aspx

There are several companies offering supplemental insurance. 

I have two small children and in our 9 months here we have not had any emergencies or serious illness, but have had to make several appointments for everything from GP visits for the kids to a podiatrist to my wife needing a variety of visits and tests to figure out a nagging fatigue issue.  All the experiences with the various doctors have been excellent, from having it be very easy to make appointments to getting good care and results.  One neat thing is that the entire country is on electronic medical records and the sharing of your record with other practices is very efficient. 

Hope that helps.

Adam

Dentist visits are astronomically expensive.  Visits to the optometrist will also hurt the pocket.  These are not areas that are well provided for by the New Zealand Public Health System (except for children - in a limited degree).  Secondary Medical Insurance will help but it is expensive - especially if you do not get to use these services.

Hi,

In order to help expats and soon-to-be expats, we would like to invite you to share your experience on this topic, with updated info on the healthcare system.

Thank you in advance,

Julie
Expat.com Team