In-Touch with Keystone : April 2022
Welcome to the the April edition of In-Touch
The first quarter of 2022 has been quite a rollercoaster. I hope you and your family have kept well.The cost of living is very much in the spotlight at the moment, and I know many people are looking for ways to fine-tune their budgets to accommodate rising costs.
If you would like to discuss ways to make your insurance more affordable, please do get in touch so that I can help you review all your options.
This month's spotlight is on health insurance
This month we are taking another look at public hospital waiting lists here in New Zealand, which have been negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. I highly recommend reading this Stuff article that outlines the effects of last year's Level 4 lockdown.
Elective surgery waitlist grows in Auckland amid lockdown cancellations.
I'd also like to share some information about actual waiting times for various procedures being performed under the Counties-Manukau DHB (as an example).
Counties Manukau Heath Waiting List
You will see that even for urgent procedures, waiting times prevail, and for some procedures, the wait is several weeks. What the lists don't tell us is how many people needing treatment or surgery haven't even managed to make it onto the list, making their wait exceptionally long.
And finally, this article from one of our insurance providers (Partners Life) examines the difference between the drugs funded by PHARMAC and those that aren't. It is vital information to have and understand, as it could impact your treatment options if you ever need these kinds of medication.
PHARMAC & Non-PHARMAC… That is the question.
There's a lot of information to digest here. If it has raised any questions that you'd like to discuss further, please reach out and contact me directly. We can talk about your options for Private Health Insurance to help you avoid the problems highlightedin the above articles.
Options to consider when evaluating the cost of private health insurance
When you're considering private health insurance cover, you will no doubt be wondering if the cost of the premiums is going to blow your budget. Health Insurance can be expensive – I know how much my own costs, but I also know the benefits it provides me.
Fortunately, there are measures that can be taken to manage or reduce the cost.
By opting for an excess on your policy (i.e., paying a small proportion of each medical bill yourself), you can reduce the cost of your premiums. The higher the excess that you choose, the more you can save.
You can also decide to self-insure for aspects of your health insurance. In other words, you can opt for a very high excess ($2,000, $4,000 or $5,000, depending on the insurer), knowing that you will need to self-fund any expenses below this value, or contribute this amount to any large medical bills.
Another option is to select only the base hospital cover (which pays for surgical and treatment costs when you are admitted to a hospital) and choose to self-fund any private specialists and diagnostic test costs.
Or you might choose private health insurance for cancer care only – there is an insurer that provides this option. The premium cost for this is considerably lower than the cost of full private health insurance.
If you choose to self-fund a portion of your medical costs, you'll want to set aside enough money to cover any expenses that may arise.
Recipe of the month
I love a good fruit sponge, and this one makes great use of seasonal fruit. It's a perfect warm dessert as the evenings get cooler.
Try this delicious autumn fruit sponge pudding.
Health and wellbeing events
Awareness is the key to disease prevention and an important factor in raising money for research into major conditions. If you're keen to improve your wellbeing or participate in a good cause, here are some health-focused events coming up over the next couple of months.
April 17th is World Hemophilia Day, run by the World Federation of Hemophilia. Their goal is to raise awareness of hemophilia and related diseases to improve access to care and treatment.
Also in April is Earth Day 2022, which falls on the 22nd. This year's theme is "Invest In Our Planet". They have 52 ideas for ways to get involved, including tree planting, organising clean-ups, calculating your "foodprint", and more.
Celebrate Youth Week from May 7th to May 15th. It's a nationwide festival of events organised by young New Zealanders to celebrate our youth's talent, passion and success. Keep an eye on their events page to see what they have planned.
Pink Shirt Day returns on Friday, May 20th. Don a pink shirt and take a stand against bullying. The official website has some great ideas for ways you can get involved individually, at school, or in your workplace
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading this issue of In-Touch, and I wish you all the very best for the coming months. If you have any questions about something you've read or you'd like some advice on personal insurance, feel free to contact Keystone using the details below.