CatLady1234

Hi there

I am moving to NZ hopefully in about 5 weeks once my visa is granted.
I'm coming out to work as a nurse. This is likely to be for some time, if not permanently if all goes well.

I am wondering though what I need to do to ensure I have the right medical cover?
Can anyone advise?
Thank you very much!

inkedneonurse

If your work visa is for two years or more then you are entitled to publicly funded healthcare, you will have to pay to visit the GP, dentist and for prescriptions

http://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/eligibility-publicly-funded-health-services/guide-eligibility-publicly-funded-health-services/work-visa-holder-eligible-be-nz-two-years-or-more

CatLady1234

Seriously thats great, so to clarify I don't need to worry about any insurance then?

inkedneonurse

Well maybe for dental care but not healthcare

garethwm

The main difference is that if you need specialist treatment that isnt life threatening, without insurance you can get free treatment in the public system but may have to wait for an appointment, sometimes for months. Going private you can generally get in straight away but have to pay. This is where insurance is handy. Without insurance, if you have a life threatening condition I think, as a permanent resident, you will receive free treatment at a public hospital but may have to pay for any ambulance trip depending on the health board policy. You will also have to pay about $40 a time for GP visits. Some people have insurance because it has some benefits. Other people take their chances with the public system.

escapedtonz

Not if your visa is granted for at least 2 years. With that you are considered like someone on a permanent visa or even a citizen. The healthcare is then part or fully funded depending what is wrong. If your status was considered temporary (I. E. Under 2 years) then you'd possibly have to pay $70-$80 to see a GP for 15 mins which includes cost of any prescription plus cost of any meds at current $7.50 per item. With the part funding your GP consult will be $40-$50 plus same cost for meds.
Yes you can purchase private health and there are many policies from the likes of SouthernCross and NIB etc however you may have to wait until you are actually living here. Costs vary from $20 a month up to $lots a month. If you want decent dental cover I'm not sure it's something you can go for specifically ? When I enquired for the family it could only be tagged on to the most comprehensive healthcare policies as an added extra so you'd have to be spending over $200 per month to gain the option of adding it for maybe $30 a month. Just be aware that pre-existing conditions aren't covered or will have an exclusion period before they will be covered.
Luckily I get SouthernCross Regular Care with my job which covers us all. Gives us around 80% of GP/Pharmacy costs back and covers minor surgery and offers a quicker route for anything more serious without having to wait although they'll only cover you up to the max allowance per year so any more and you'll be paying out of your own pocket.
If I didn't get that with my job I wouldn't pay for private healthcare. Maybe I would if I was older with more ailments ?

chc4me

Do you have private medical cover in the UK? While it was many years ago, when we left the UK I asked my insurance company at that time if they had any arrangements with a NZ insurance firm. We made contact with the NZ firm, and arranged a transfer of benefits. My wife and I transferred our private medical insurance under this arrangement which was very important due to pre-existing medical conditions that otherwise would not have been covered.

If you do have UK private medical insurance, another option might be to suspend it. Best to ring them and check on what is possible.

If you don't have any insurance, check any special arrangements with your employer (some employers offer health insurance as part of the employment package), or consider insurance on arrival. I always say insurance is something we all hate paying for, but when it's needed, you will wish you had more.