Author Topic: Whether to get private in a country with socialised healthcare?  (Read 2944 times)

andyp2010

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Whether to get private in a country with socialised healthcare?
« on: September 20, 2015, 06:23:40 PM »
So I've currently got private healthcare cover but I live in NZ and have access to 'free at the point of use' healthcare.

However, growing up in the UK, you learn what this really means. Queues. Waiting lists. Lots of. I'd be covered for the same things on private but they'd be no doubt ten times as fast at fixing the problem.

Should I still get it? It'd work out around $13 per month for surgical cover with a $3000 excess (USD).

I can't work out if I'm essentially doubling up on something I get for free or whether it's a good idea to have a superior private system as a backup. Given 1/3 of people get cancer at some point, is it statistically sound?

Anyone got any formulas or theories on this?


Annamal

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Re: Whether to get private in a country with socialised healthcare?
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2015, 06:31:03 PM »
Do you have the money to pay for private care if needed?

If so then you're essentially self-insuring (especially since NZ premiums tend to rise very dramatically as you get older)

andyp2010

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Re: Whether to get private in a country with socialised healthcare?
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2015, 10:37:26 PM »
What are we talking? ten thousand? a hundred thousand? I have absolutely no idea.

Could do ten thousand no problem, $100k might be a stretch

Ocelot

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Re: Whether to get private in a country with socialised healthcare?
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2015, 01:58:41 AM »
I'm in NZ and haven't ever bothered with private. Every issue I've ever had has been sorted pretty quickly by the public system. I can definitely see the value in insurance when it comes to elective surgery though - and $13/month is pretty reasonable.

jamface10

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Re: Whether to get private in a country with socialised healthcare?
« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2015, 04:21:49 AM »
I've been tossing up the same thing...should I insure young before any issues occur. Although I see how many older people end up having to give it up before they really use, so you are probably better to self insure in the long run.

andyp2010

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Re: Whether to get private in a country with socialised healthcare?
« Reply #5 on: September 21, 2015, 04:29:19 AM »
its about 20NZD, converted it to USD for the most folk on here. Thinking I'll cancel. I'll sleep on it. The reason it's cheap is I'm a non-smoking 25 year old, can't be more insurable than that really.

Didn't know there were many mustachians out here in NZ. Hello from CHCH!

melime

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Re: Whether to get private in a country with socialised healthcare?
« Reply #6 on: September 21, 2015, 04:47:00 AM »
I'll be interested to see the responses, as I'm also in NZ and have struggled with the same question.

However, I can speak to one thing - private healthcare in NZ is *not* particularly useful for serious illnesses (such as cancer).  If something is seriously wrong with you, you get moved up quickly, and the public system is better anyway.  Where private is great is the non-urgent things, that's where you can end up languishing on waiting lists for months or years.

My uncle and father both had terminal cancer (one for 6ish years, one for 6ish months), both with private health insurance, and they both chose to use the public system for treatment.  My father used private to access a CAT scan a week more quickly than through public (easier for us to schedule around Christmas holidays), but that didn't affect any treatment schedule.  My uncle's recommendation was to use the public system, and I believe that's because they use the same doctors.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!