“We’ve all read stories of our over-stretched and under-resourced public health system. However the potential consequences on our individual lives is heart-wrenching.”
Major Medical Cover provides for the reimbursement of significant medical expenses, in particular admission to private hospital for care or surgery in the event of a non-acute medical condition such as cancer or heart disease so that you can get treatment when you need it without having to endure public hospital wait lists.
The New Zealand public health system provides outstanding care for acute conditions, which can hit all of us without warning. Unfortunately the public health system does not have sufficient funding to ensure people with non-acute conditions can also be treated swiftly enough to prevent the condition from causing them unnecessary long-term discomfort.
In New Zealand an average of 3,684 people per month have been waiting for longer than six months for their first specialist assessment through the public health system.*
For any surgical hospitalisation, costs directly arising from surgical treatment of non-acute medical conditions carried out in a private hospital are reimbursed with a maximum benefit per life assured of $200,000 per operation.
For non-surgical hospitalisation, the maximum benefit per life assured is $200,000 per annum. Treatment costs for major illnesses such as cancer are covered under health cover, irrespective of whether these costs are subsidised by Pharmac or not.
Since Pink Insurance was created the cost of being treated with Herceptin has been covered.
* As at July 2008 www.electiveservices.co.nz
