Citizens and residents of New Zealand are lucky enough to be able to enjoy a low-cost health system that is government subsidised. There are, however, hidden costs associated with healthcare in New Zealand that aren’t communicated well. These unexpected costs can be damaging for families already having to deal with the shock of emergency treatment. These costs range from those who don’t have hospital cover having to foot the bill of surgeries, to the cost of waiting up to a year for free treatment. We’ll take a look at common hidden medical costs below.
Private Healthcare
Patients are sometimes forced to elect for private treatment, meaning they pay themselves from their hard-earned savings, in order to get surgery immediately rather than having to wait. These costs can be considerable, even for common medical tests and minor treatment. Health Now offers interest-free payment plans offering the user the ability to pay for health products and services over the course of up to 6 weeks. Patients who wish to go private but can’t afford the upfront costs can benefit through using our buy now, pay later service. It’s time Kiwis put their health first – the quicker you access treatment, the quicker you can get back to your best self.
Waiting For Treatment
If you wish to access subsidised treatment, as millions of others do, there may be a long waiting list ahead of you. Due to the current demands placed on our public health system due to our growing and aging population, as well as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, you could be waiting as long as a year to receive a medical test or receive the treatment you require.
If the surgery you require is a non-emergency surgery, you’ll likely end up on a long waiting list. Also, if the District Health Board deems your condition isn’t severe enough to qualify for the waiting list despite your doctor’s recommendation, you may have to decide whether to wait for your condition to worsen or pay the full cost of elective private treatment, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. You can prepare now by self-insuring with us by subscribing to future health and contributing manually over time. You never know when your health may change.
At any one time in New Zealand, there can be well over 100,000 people waiting for surgery. With an average wait time of up to a year that could mean missing out on a year’s worth of work. This is a significant amount of money to miss out on, not to mention living in discomfort throughout that period.
Lack of Hospital Cover
Without hospital cover, it is understandable if patients are reluctant to pay the high costs associated with scans, diagnostic tests and seeing specialists for what may be ‘minor issues’. If these minor issues are left untreated, they may develop into major issues. This means unnecessary periods of discomfort for you and possibly higher prices in the future.
To prevent the hidden costs of healthcare outlined above, we recommend getting in touch today for a chat about how else we can help prepare yourself for the future by funding your health ahead of time or allowing you the ability to pay later, interest-free.
