What Forms Of Health Insurance Are Available?

By Author: nicksmith
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Generally Health Insurance protects you for 5 main health situations

1. Hospitalization and Surgery

2. Specialist Consultations and Diagnostic Testing

3. Dental and Optical

4. General Practitioner / Doctor Visits and Prescriptions

5. Natural Health Practitioners

The information provided here is of a general nature and different countries and insurers may provide a variation of cover.

Hospitalization and Surgery

This is typically the most important health insurance cover type (also regularly known as ‘base’ cover) as this protects you for the more expensive medical procedures such as when you need to go to Hospital for a medically required surgical procedure.

Cover under this section of insurance is designed to pay for surgery to treat a disease or an illness or where you need to be admitted to hospital without the need for surgery. You are usually covered for hospital costs, surgeon’s fees, pre and post operative diagnostics, consultations and tests.

Specialist Consultations and Diagnostic Testing

This covers the costs of seeing ...
... a Registered Specialist such as visits to cardiologists, gynaecologists and ear, nose, throat specialists.

Diagnostic testing procedures such as X-ray, ECG, ultrasounds, bone density scans, mammograms and colonoscopy are examples of the types of tests you may be covered for etc

Dental and Optical

Cover typically includes the cost of dental treatment by a Registered Dental practitioner including dental check, cleaning, scaling, teeth removal, X-rays and fillings.

Also covers the cost of optometrist or orthoptist consultations and the cost of prescription glasses or contact lenses.

General Practitioner / Doctor Visits and Prescriptions

Cover typically includes the cost of GP visits and the costs of prescriptions and laboratory tests

Natural Health Practitioners

The types of health practitioners that fall under this type of cover usually include; physiotherapists, dietician, acupuncturist, naturopath, homeopath, medical herbalist, remedial body therapist, reflexology treatment, nutritionist and podiatrist

What cover is best for you?

For the protection against the most significant medical costs then you require the Hospitalization and Surgery cover. This is the most standard type of health insurance and a good start for everyone.

Where you or the family are frequent users of dental, optical or GP services you may find these covers of benefit to you. However it is important to weigh up the cost as the insurance premiums are often quite high for this cover when compared to the benefits you may receive. They are definitely more suited to high users so that the premiums you are paying are worthwhile.

When should I buy Health Insurance?

This one is easy... the sooner you have health insurance the sooner you can rest assured that if you need medical treatment (large or small) then it can be available quickly at no (or minimal) cost.

For more information about Medical Insurance, please visit www.insurancehelpline.co.nz