People from the United Kingdom or Australia may receive the same medical coverage as a New Zealand citizen or resident thanks to a Reciprocal Health Agreements. Other medical services are not free to visitors.
If there is an accident while in New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Scheme (ACC) helps cover care. The ACC provides comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for all New Zealand residents and visitors to New Zealand. Hospital stays, doctors, physiotherapist's or any specialist treatment are covered. If the injury is serious, payment will also be made to offset the loss of wages.
Ministry of health offers life-long medical care for everyone. All essential health care is provided free through the public health system. This means that while some routine services, such as visits to local doctors and dentists, have to be paid for, more costly services, such as hospital treatment are, with minor exceptions, available free to all residents. Costs to visit a doctor are around NZ$45-55 for adults, and NZ$20 for children aged 6 to 17. The government also funds subsidies for visits to the local doctor and prescriptions for young children, people who require frequent health care and those on low incomes.- Free Public hospital treatment
- Free treatment at hospital 24-hour accident and emergency clinics
- 24-hour accident and emergency (A&E) clinics
- Subsidized fees for visits to General Practitioners (GPs)
- Subsidized fees for specialist care such as physiotherapist's, chiropractors and osteopath's when referred by a GP for an accident case
- Free or subsidized health care for those suffering from acute or chronic medical conditions
- No charge for most laboratory tests and x-rays, except at privately operated clinics
- No charge for health care during pregnancy and childbirth, unless provided by the private medical sector
- No charge for GP referrals to a public hospital for treatment
- Subsidies for children under six for visits to the doctor and for prescriptions
- Free Breast cancer screening for woman aged between 45 and 69.
Doctors and General Practitioners (GP)
General Practice is very similar to what you might know in other countries with most GPs having patient list sizes between 500 to 2000 and providing a full range of primary care services to them. In some practices, some GPs may choose to provide obstetric services, minor surgery clinics and may even provide some anaesthetic services to local hospitals.
Most GPs are salaried by the publicly funded Primary Care system and are employed on contracts where they are offered hourly rates and they can elect to work as many hours as they choose.
The care provided by family doctors or general practitioners (GPs) is partially subsidised by the Government but in most cases you will still need to pay a copayment. This fee is set by the GP and can vary from clinic to clinic.
You can find a GP in Auckland on everybody.co.nz
Update 6/12/2009
Expatriate health insurance in New Zealand
With so much to deal with before leaving your home country, (taxes, moving house, paperwork etc.) the careful planning of your expatriation to Auckland is an essential step. As far as healthcare is concerned, your local social security scheme won’t be accompanying you to your host country and, once abroad, you might be surprised by the care system you find in New Zealand So, before leaving, make sure you have appropriate cover!
Cigna is one of the world's biggest international insurers with more than 30 years' experience in providing global health insurance across 200 countries and territories. They have access to more than 1.65 million hospitals, physicians, clinics and specialists worldwide.
Cigna Global's flexible plans are specifically designed for expats and globally mobile individuals who move to New Zealand. All their plans can be tailored to your individual requirements in New Zealand, always finding the right healthcare solution, whatever the situation and budget.
Getting a health insurance quote
Create your perfect plan with Cigna and combine the reassurance of comprehensive inpatient cover with the flexibility of optional extra benefits.
Click on the button to access the online tool and get a quote in 2 minutes.