Is medical insurance worth it ?

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#2997367 17-Nov-2022 11:29

MikeAqua:

Without Southern Cross, I would be dead. Twice. You cannot rely on the public system for anything other than A&E.

That is the bottom line for me, gone are the days of decent public health. You only need to see the weekly stories of people waiting hours to be treated even in A&E.

This is only going to get worse as the health system slowly falls apart.

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johno1234

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#2997423 17-Nov-2022 12:05

JayADee:

I strongly suggest income insurance, whatever you decide.

How expensive is it?

freitasm

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#2997429 17-Nov-2022 12:26

johno1234:

JayADee:

I strongly suggest income insurance, whatever you decide.

How expensive is it?

This will be something above the health insurance. I have income protection with my life insurance - and because of that it's not cheap.

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billgates

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#3000895 24-Nov-2022 14:27

Just an FYI for those with preexisting conditions looking to get health insurance or switching their providers. I received the below promo email today from LifeDirect that NIB is currently offering pre-existing cover for new signups until Feb 2023 for most conditions. You will need to contact LifeDirect for details on what's conditions are included or excluded.

Do whatever you want to do man.

duckDecoy

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#3000899 24-Nov-2022 14:36

To slightly side jack this discussion, I just got this from my insurance broker. For anyone who knows about this stuff is this worth it?? Usual disclaimers of it depends on your history etc aside, I don't know much about what Pharmac do or don't provide around cancer treatments and whether there are many alternative drugs out there that are really good but Pharmac don't cover.

Email snip pasted below

However, since you took out your policy Southern Cross have brought out two new optional add-ons under the name “cancer cover plus”. Cancer cover plus has two options – Chemotherapy 100 and Chemotherapy 300. These two products increase your allowance for chemotherapy from $60,000 per year to either $100,000 or $300,000 per year. This allowance can also be used for non-Pharmac chemotherapy drugs (the usual allowance for these drugs under the base policy is $10,000 per year).

These products can be added at any time before your 60th birthday (a long way away at the moment!)

If you are interested in adding Chemotherapy 100 to your policy the additional premium would be: $27.34 per month

If you are interested in adding Chemotherapy 300 to your policy the additional premium would be: $38.67 per month

billgates

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#3000901 24-Nov-2022 14:40

I would very strongly recommend you add Chemotherapy 300 that should cover for $300k for Non-Pharmac drugs. A lot of recent cancer treatments are not covered by PHARMAC and a lot of Givealittle pages are setup by people with no Non-Pharmac cover.

Do whatever you want to do man.

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duckDecoy

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#3000911 24-Nov-2022 14:50

billgates:

I would very strongly recommend you add Chemotherapy 300 that should cover for $300k for Non-Pharmac drugs. A lot of recent cancer treatments are not covered by PHARMAC and a lot of Givealittle pages are setup by people with no Non-Pharmac cover.

In your opinion would $100,000 be insufficient cover for non Pharmac chemo drugs? This is the stuff I don't know about, what level of cover is reasonable.

billgates

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#3000914 24-Nov-2022 15:01

Non-Pharmac drugs can cost $40k per treatment. In some rare cases even $300k will run you short. $300k is the most I have seen being offered for NON-Pharmac coverage.

Do whatever you want to do man.

Tinkerisk

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#3000915 24-Nov-2022 15:05

Health insurance as the basis of social legislation has been a legal requirement here in Germany since June 15, 1883 - fortunately.

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Tinkerisk

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#3000918 24-Nov-2022 15:13

Batman: Go with the cheapest provider assuming coverage is the same.

It's a gamble.

You get sick you win.

You stay healthy they win.

In ancient China, this was cleverly solved: you paid the doctor as long as you weren't sick, and when you got sick, there was no more money. The doctor then already made an effort to get his patients healthy again.

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons.
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JPNZ

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#3000930 24-Nov-2022 15:43

duckDecoy:

In your opinion would $100,000 be insufficient cover for non Pharmac chemo drugs? This is the stuff I don't know about, what level of cover is reasonable.

Nowhere near IMO. Found this online, None of these drugs are funded by Pharmac and its a drop in the bucket..

"Inflammatory bowel disease affects about 15,000 New Zealanders and those who are significantly affected by the condition and can’t access treatment must undergo surgery. What’s more, they face living with a colostomy bag for the rest of their lives.

Here are some examples of treatment options and their potential out-of-pocket expenses without PHARMAC funding:

Ustekinumab - Newsroom reports that it would cost patients suffering from bowel disease $35,000 a year for the first year and $27,000 a year after that.

Keytruda - currently only funded for the treatment of melanoma, but can help in the treatment of other types of cancer. Non-melanoma patients would have to fork out more than $60,000 a year, and with administration costs that could bump the total cost up to $100,000.

Tafinlar – one of the most advanced treatment options for melanoma, Tafinlar can cost up to $132,000 a year."

I had a friend who sadly lost his battle with Cancer at 32 years old and he fundraised for Keytruda and it was over $100,000 per year

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nakedmolerat

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#3000936 24-Nov-2022 15:57

the answer is NO. just put asid $10k for investigations.

JPNZ

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#3002346 28-Nov-2022 08:05

Another article showing the joys of non pharmac funded drugs

"Jo McKenzie-McLean, who has bowel cancer, has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for life-extending drugs. This particular number represented part of that cost. But it was what it was for that she found the most galling: in addition to not covering the cost of her drugs, the New Zealand government was charging her GST. “We were quite stunned,” she said. “The [list] that we looked at; $21,000 had come off on GST. And we were kind of like, oh my God, that could have paid for one of my treatments.”

McKenzie-McLean, who shares her story in Stuff’s new podcast Jo vs Cancer, was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in 2021. She estimates she has spent $200,000 on such treatments. Some of the drugs she has used are publicly funded, but because she chose private treatment soon after her diagnosis, nothing is covered, to prevent double-dipping.

Paying the full cost of such expensive drugs is one thing. Watching the government do nothing but clip the ticket is another.

“I was thinking, shit, that money could extend someone's life,” she said. “And I think it’s really unfair and quite outrageous that the government won’t fund drugs that can improve the quality and quantity of somebody’s life.”

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ben28

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#3002523 28-Nov-2022 10:46

Been with Unimed since 1995, highly recommend them. Maybe don't have as good a customer experience as SX would have due to SX being so much bigger and having simpler payment arrangements with more providers, but I can cope with that.

Pre-Approvals when requested are given quickly.

Be aware the cost escalates as you age. Spoke to a 78 yo lawyer (still working) once. He pays 28K pa for himself and his wife. Claimed 38k the year before.

For me $550 per month for 2 people in early 60's (that's just the big stuff with a high excess)

So eventually you can't afford it.

The concept of self-insuring may work but depends on when you need to make some drawings. Just like retirement savings if you withdraw some early your nest egg later will be less.

Overall happy with paying for health insurance.

Stopped the income insurance as the costs were too high for perceived benefit. (standdown periods too long, payments stopped after 2 years, etc etc). Decided if the worst happened then would downsize the house.

ben28

billgates

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#3002534 28-Nov-2022 11:03

We looked at Unimed but they only cover $12k max for Non-Pharmac medicines which is nothing really.

Do whatever you want to do man.

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