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You cannot tell when or what health issues or problems may affect you in the future. Not all procedures are covered by the public health system More importantly access to public treatment is determined by needs and not when you want to be treated. The degree of seriousness or levels of disability may have to be very high before the public system allows you access and the situation may already have had a major impact on your quality of life and ability to earn. Or you may have to use up that nest egg for your treatment.
We don’t wait until we have the car accident to insure the car! We all know that it is wise to insure before we drive out of the sales yard. We do this to protect against loss in dollar terms if we were to have an accident. Why should we not look at our bodies in the same light? Before you take that high income earning machine out for a spin why not insure against accident or breakdown i.e. unforeseen illness or mishap.
We are fortunate in New Zealand to have a good public health system that caters for acute and serious conditions but, if you don’t require immediate treatment to ensure your survival then the assessment and qualifying levels for elective surgery can take months even years.
Pre-existing conditions are health problems that exist at the time you apply for insurance.
Most insurers treat these in one of three ways:
- By excluding your pre-existing condition from your insurance cover, or
- By charging a higher premium to cover your pre-existing condition, or
- By covering your pre-existing condition only after your policy has been running for a set time.
That is why it is important to take out cover before you develop any medical condition that is likely to be excluded from cover.
- Insurance will pay the actual costs of the majority of your hospital costs.
- You choose when and where you want your treatment.
- You decide the level of benefits and options to suit your needs.
- You control your premium costs by use of excesses.
- PEACE OF MIND
Contact Abbott Life and Health on phone 0800 081 443, or email healthsure@abbott.co.nz. We can conduct an analysis of your needs to identify the appropriate plan to fit your requirements by applying a four point criteria:
- The financial stability of the insurer - when a claim is made we want the insurer to be solvent and have the ability to pay the claim.
- Attitude of the insurer - when a claim is made we want the claim to go to the claims department not the legal department.
- Policy terms conditions and wording - we want to make available the best definitions available in the market.
- Price.
It is not a case of one size fits all. Many personal circumstances must be identified to ensure that you achieve the desired outcome you want at claim time. |
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Procedure |
Range of cost |
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Cardiac Bypass |
$30,000-$40,000 |
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Valve Replacement |
$33,000-$50,000 |
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Angiogram |
$ 3,900- $ 4,400 |
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Angioplasty (without stents) |
$13,000-$15,000 |
|
Angioplasty ( with 2 stents) |
$18,000-$20,000 |
|
Total Hysterectomy |
$ 5,000- $ 8,000 |
|
Laparoscopic Hysterectomy |
$ 8,000-$11,000 |
|
Laparoscopic incision of endometriosis |
$ 4,500-$12,000 |
|
Prostate removal |
$ 8,000-$13,000 |
|
Prostate Brachytherapy |
$20,000-$30,000 |
|
Excision of cancerous skin lesion |
$ 500- $ 3,000 |
|
Colonoscopy |
$1,450-$1,600 |
|
Radical Masectomy |
$ 4,000- $ 9,000 |
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Gastroscopy |
$ 800- $ 1,200 |
|
Gall Bladder Surgery |
$ 5,000- $ 8,500 |
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Total Hip Replacement |
$15,000-$22,000 |
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Total Knee Replacement |
$15,000-$22,000 |
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Cataract Removal |
$ 3,500- $ 4,000 |
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Thyroidectomy |
$ 5,500- $ 9,000 |
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Types of health insurance policies
There are two types of policies:
Comprehensive Care Policies. These cover primary care costs, such as doctors fees, prescription charges, physio costs and other everyday medical bills, as well as surgical and hospital costs-sometimes with preset limits.
Major Medical or Surgical Care Policies. These cover health problems that require hospitalisation only.
Premiums cost more when more events or procedures are covered.
Both kinds of policies usually exclude certain conditions or treatments, such as cosmetic or screening treatments. |
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What are elective services?
Elective surgery can be vital to improving a person’s health and quality of life.
Elective services are non-emergency treatments (including diagnostic testing), where the condition is not life threatening and does not require immediate surgery. Common elective procedures:
· Hip and knee replacement
· Cancerous tumour removal
· Cataract removal
· Heart surgery
· Hysterectomy
· Diagnostic surgery
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