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Will the public health system fix me?
Posted by: Inform's Tim von Dadelszen on 23 March 2007
Maybe. The first step in answering this question is to understand the difference between acute and elective procedures.
If your condition is acute (critical and life threatening) the public system should be there to help. If not, you have a choice to make: you can either join a public waiting list, or pay for private treatment. If you don’t have Health Insurance, this choice is an ugly and difficult one.
Getting elective treatment in the public system involves way too much uncertainty. You’d have to queue to see a specialist, wait to obtain diagnostic tests, and only if you qualify with enough points would you be given a date for surgery.
In contrast, there are typically no waiting lists for private treatment (i.e. you choose when and where). But what about the cost? If you don’t have Health Insurance you’ll have to empty your pockets for diagnosis and treatment.
Healthcare services today are increasingly expensive. Three quick examples: surgery for prostate cancer could set you back $23,000-$26,000, a cardiac bypass can cost $24,000-$28,000, and you may have to fork out as much as $10,000 for a hysterectomy.
These figures are taken from the Health Funds brochure "Making sense of Health Insurance 2004". For further information www.healthfunds.co.nz
So… to wait or to pay? The problem is that either way you choose the result is stress for you and your family. Imagine the stress of waiting to be seen and not being sure what is wrong with you. People have been known to sell their homes to pay for the treatment they need because they can’t get help in the public system.
Start with a health problem; add in some difficult choices, sleepless nights, and money woes… it’s a recipe for disaster. Now contrast this situation with a person who has Health Insurance. If you have insurance the only choice you need to make is on which day to receive treatment.
Given all this, it’s not surprising that about 1.3 million Kiwis have chosen to get health insurance. Roughly a third of the population has decided they wouldn’t want to choose between waiting for public treatment, and potentially paying tens of thousands of dollars for private treatment.