Health insurance hacks
So, you've got private health insurance - choice. Or maybe you've been thinking about it. The benefits of private health cover are pretty obvious - you can jump public waitlists and be seen sooner by specialists, access private treatment and surgeries, as well as having access to treatments and medicines that might not be available through the public system. But there's often a load of additional benefits available under a typical health insurance policy that you might be missing out on. Here's an overview of some of the most commonly missed benefits.
It's important to know that benefits vary between provider and policies, so to keep things simple I'll highlight some of the benefits built into Accuro Health Insurance's SmartCare + policies, just to give a broad understanding. Every provider has their own unique offering, so if you'd like to know about the benefits of your own individual policy, please get in touch.
Free bowel screening
Bowel cancer kills 1,200 kiwis per year - that's more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Accuro provides a free bowel screening test every three years of membership - all you have to do is redeem it!
Sterilisation
After two years of continuous membership, you'll be eligible for up to $5,000 towards the cost of a sterilisation procedure. This includes vasectomies and female sterilisation procedures, but it doesn't include reversals - so make sure you're certain!
A free doctors check-up
After three years of continous membership, you'll be eligible for up to $150 to cover the costs of a health check performed by a New Zealand-registered medical practitioner (GP). You can access this benefit every three years.
A healthy weight discount
Fancy being rewarded just for keeping healthy? After three years of continuous cover and with confirmation from your GP that your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.99, your premium on your base plan will be discounted as follows:
5% discount after 3 years of continuous cover
10% after 6 years of continuous cover
15% after 9 years of continuous cover, and every 3 years following
If you have the Specialists and Tests option on your policy, there are further benefits you can access:
Melanoma screening
Every three years you could access up to $200 for melanoma investigations. So, if there's a mole you've been meaning to get checked, why not do it for free?
Pregnancy and infertility treatment
After three years of membership, you can access up to $2,000 every policy year to help with obstetric care during pregnancy, and infertility diagnosis.
Mammograms and prostate checks
You can access up to $250 every three years to cover costs for a mammogram or prostate check.
Mental health help
This service can offer support and guidance when dealing with a mental health issue by connecting you to a team of health professionals including a nurse, psychologist and psychiatrist who will review your condition, make a diagnosis or review an existing diagnosis and treatment plan and make recommendations for future steps. The mental health nurse will continue to support you once you have completed the process. This service is completely free.
Many of these built-in benefits are often missed by policy owners, but when utilised can add serious value and bang-for-buck.
Whilst this is just a summary of one providers' extra benefits, most policies have extra benefits you can access that you probably aren't aware of. So, why not find out what you can get? If you'd like to look into your policy and see what you might be eligible just reach out, I'm here to help. And if you don't have your own private health cover but would like to look at your options, I work with several providers and can help find cover that's suitable.
Note this summary of health insurance gives a broad overview of a typical health insurance policy, and is not reflective of any policy you own. It's intended to give a basic understanding of how private health cover typically works. Always seek personalised financial advice from an accredited expert before making any changes or decisions about your own covers.
