Eligibility for Publicly Funded Health and Disability Services
It is important if you are not a New Zealand Citizen that you know if you are eligible for publicly funded health and disability services in New Zealand.
Government funding of health and disability services means that eligible people may receive free inpatient and outpatient public hospital services,
subsidies on prescription items and a range of support services for people with disabilities in the community.
To check if you are eligible go to www.moh.govt.nz/eligibility or phone the eligibility coordinator.
Tauranga Hospital Ph: 07 579 8189
Whakatane Hospital Ph: 07 306 0771
Being informed about your eligibility enables you to make informed decisions about your healthcare if you are not eligible,
rather than receiving an unexpected bill. If you are requiring hospital treatment, for example Maternity services,
it is important to find out what sort of costs are involved so that you can budget for these.
Each person must meet the eligibility criteria in their own right. The eligibility of a person's partner,
for example, does not automatically give the person the same eligibility.
If you are not eligible for publicly funded health and disability services, you can still get the services, but you will have to pay for them,
and should get health insurance.
The Government recommends that people who are not eligible for publicly funded services, or those who only have cover under the Reciprocal Health Agreements
with Australia and the United Kingdom, also have health insurance, because the reciprocal agreements only cover immediate and necessary treatment on the same basis
as New Zealanders. Visits to a general practitioner, non-urgent or discretionary services, rehabilitation, and repatriation are not funded within the reciprocal
agreement.
Checking people's eligibility is the responsibility of all health providers who administer publicly funded health and disability services.
When you visit Tauranga or Whakatane Hospital you may be asked for proof of your eligibility (passport, birth certificate etc).
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