It’s been obvious for some time that our public health system is falling apart before our very eyes
There are many reasons for this. However, it is very clear that health professionals have left, and are continuing to leave New Zealand in droves. They are moving for better working conditions and pay overseas. Burnout has decimated the health sector. Doctors, radiographers, nurses and laboratory staff carried a brutal workload during the Covid episode. The ill-advised imposition of the vaccine mandates, which ironically are still in place, made this burden worse. People were forced to leave their careers of choice after years of training and experience; a serious loss of invaluable experience has been lost.
In April 2023 I read a news article that had me seething. A cancer patient who had been given six to eight weeks to live was told he faced a 12-week wait to see a specialist. Sadly, this sort of headline is far from unusual. The sustained lockdowns meant that there was, and continues to be, a major backlog in the required diagnostic testing and specialist appointments nationwide through the public health system.
Why get medical insurance cover in New Zealand?
Because it is apparent that placing total reliance on the public health system, at this time and for the foreseeable future, amounts to little more than playing Russian roulette with your health and life.
Medical insurance can be the safety net when you need it most
Private medical insurance cover provides the opportunity – when you need it – for prompt diagnosis and treatment of serious medical conditions. This is particularly relevant for cancer. You can have access to expensive chemotherapy drugs which have been approved by Medsafe, irrespective of whether these are subsidised by PHARMAC or not.
Medical insurance can make a huge difference
During current difficult financial times, taking up medical insurance may not be an option available to everyone. However, the choice is stark. Do you leave your trust in a failing health system? Or do you take responsibility for managing your own health? Do you want the ability to have major diagnostic tests when you require them and have any required surgical and/or medical treatments undertaken quickly?
Choosing the right health plan
There are a number of medical insurance providers in the market. An experienced insurance specialist is able to give you quality advice on the best plan to suit your needs, at a cost that is manageable for you.
It’s what we do!
Theo Simeonidis
UProtectNZ Insurance Services