Health Matters 2

The most worrying and complicated thing about moving from Australia to New Zealand has been Health Costs. When I previously visited New Zealand, I took out travel insurance and I usually take it out now when I return to Australia although last year I found it cheaper to take out world wide insurance for 12 months but that has now run out and, as I do not plan to travel anywhere other than Australia for the next year, I have not renewed it.

However both Australia and New Zealand provide reciprocal medical facilities for each others citizens. My main worry would be the need to be medically evacuated home.
I discovered that once I could prove my intention to reside permanently in New Zealand (either after 2 years or, in my case,  purchasing a home) I was entitled to the same medical benefits as any New Zealander.  But there are differences.

The good side is medical prescriptions. In Australia a prescription medicine usually costs $34. 20 and if one is on long term medicine eg blood pressure, you visit the doctor every 6 months and receive a prescription with 5 repeats each costing $34.20.
When I became an aged pensioner the cost went down to $5.60.  There is a safety net but you need to have more than about 52 prescriptions in a year before that applies.

In New Zealand a prescription costs just $3 and while you must visit the doctor every 3 months each prescription covers 3 months supply. I take 2 blood pressure tablets each day and one for cholesterol. These cost me a total of $3 per month in New Zealand while in Australia they would now cost me $17.40 and were $102.60 before I reached age 65. Strangely a prescription from a specialist (eg the antibiotics after today's surgery) costs $15.

Visiting a General Practitioner (family doctor/primary health care) is more complicated. In Australia the visit may be over $40 but you take the receipt to Medicare (paid for in a tax surcharge) and receive just under $30 refund. Some Medical clinics bulk bill, ie you pay nothing, just sign a form and they collect the refund. Usually such clinics charge after hours or if you make an appointment rather than just turn up and wait. It is not allowed to insure for primary health cover.

In New Zealand the charge may also be $40 - $50 but, after you register with a medical clinic, it is reduced to $25 for a visit. You can take out insurance at a very high cost. There are safety nets for high users.

Specialists in Australia are similar to General Practitioners, you pay the bill and go to Medicare for a refund. It depends on the specialist as to how much they charge over the Medicare amount. To gain a refund you must have a referral from a General Practitioner.

In New Zealand the Specialist is free if you are referred by a GP and are prepared to wait (unless it is urgent). You can avoid waiting by going to a private specialist (as I did with my skin cancers) but then you must pay.  Similarly with hospitals.

In Australia I had Private Health Insurance. As I had been insured since starting work, I was fully covered. The government paid 30% of the cost and besides hospital procedures I was covered (with limits)  for physiotherapy, prescription glasses, dentists etc. The insurer is not allowed to vary the cost as you age (except by regulated cost of living amounts).

I have just looked into private health insurance in New Zealand. After over a month of forms and inquiries to my GP, I was offered insurance at much the same price as in Australia but it only covered hospitals and had so many exceptions, based on my medical history, it was not worth it.  It would also increase as I got older. My main worry is non urgent items such as joint replacements. I will either have to wait or if it is too painful try to find the money. As I already have arthritis the insurer would not cover me.

In Australia I paid $250 (the agreed excess) for my one stay in hospital for back surgery in 2003. In 2006 I attended the hospital with chest pain (and was told my likelihood of a heart attack was almost nil) and agreed to be treated as a private patient. I therefore received a newspaper in the morning and a taxi voucher back to the railway station.

New Zealand does have an excellent accident cover although some people do not think so. You cannot sue anyone for compensation. The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), paid for by employers and car registration, helps to pay for the cost of injuries from work, home and sports or other leisure activities. 

Ambulance cover is subsidised but I have joined the Ambulance service for $35 per year and so it will be free.

Health Matters 1

A. There was a wonderful conclusion to our service this morning.  A few weeks ago I first noticed a lady who had great difficulty making it up the aisle to communion. She was using crutches. My friends told me it was wonderful to see her in church at all as she had suffered from a brain tumour.  It was removed then regrew, needing a second operation.  At one stage she lost the ability to speak and was completely incapacitated.  She lost her hair due to radiation therapy and apparently it is regrowing a different colour.  I recognised her husband but not her.

Today, after the vicar made the usual announcements, she stood and, in tears, told us her oncologist has declared her completely free of cancer. Her husband then thanked the congregation for all their prayers. We erupted in spontaneous applause. The vicar said he felt he should pray but noted the final hymn was more appropriate so we sang 'All hail the power of Jesus' name'.

B. Birdie, my friend in Indianapolis with breast cancer reported that at the beginning of her second chemotherapy treatment they told her the tumours had already shrunk noticeably. She has lost her hair and now has a cold which does not help.  Her third chemo dose is on Monday so continued prayer please.

C. Far far less important, I had my yearly skin cancer checkup back in late July.  The (seemingly very young) doctor took  4 biopsies. Two were nothing but there was a squamous cell cancer on my upper arm and a basal cell cancer on my back, I had a basal cancer on my forehead two years ago which was far more unpleasant.  The cancers were cut out 3 weeks ago after I returned from my visit to Australia.  I was looking forward to the stitches being removed last Tuesday when the doctor rang me on Monday to say the pathology showed he had not removed all of the basal cancer from my back, it had longer roots than normal.  So now I have to undergo the surgery again tomorrow. My main annoyance is that it will further delay my garden renovation.  I have been madly spreading top soil and bark in cold rain yesterday and even snow today as I will not be able to lift anything too heavy again for the next 10 days.  And then there is the additional cost.  I will have spent over $2000 on the whole sorry saga.  In Australia I would have got half to two- thirds back from Medicare.

The Week that was: health, work, VIPS and Internet

Last week was a mixed bag, not memorable which is probably why I began reminiscing about my journeys in the USA.
It was the last week of winter (we always say Spring begins on September 1 here) but it has been unusually hot and the first bushfires have begun south of Sydney.
As is common for me, the change of season brings head colds. I do not remember ever being sick in Winter but rarely go through Spring unscathed. My last attack of flu (before I began having vaccinations) was on September 11, 2001. I have even suffered head colds when travelling to the Northern hemisphere in April/May (although I still blame George Bush)

So, as I sat watching my favourite TV program, Midsomer Murders last Sunday night, I felt the sore throat developing and the nose beginning to act like a running tap.
Fortunately I dosed myself up before going to bed. I had already planned to miss hiking on Monday and garden instead.  Monday was cold and showery, more like the winter it should be,  so I spent most of the day lying down, keeping warm and reading.

However I was still not the best on Tuesday when I had to go to work as I had promised 3 days last week, the most days I have worked in one week for over two years.  At least the sore throat was gone and it did not appear to be developing into the dreaded swine flu. I was much better by the Wednesday and thankfully it has not moved to my chest.

Work was very strange. The Principal closed the library for 2 days because something special was to happen on the Wednesday.  We had to tidy shelves and move furniture but all we knew was that it involved the rollout of laptop computers to all students in year 9 which our Commonwealth Government has promised as one strategy to fight the Global recession.

On Wednesday morning we were invaded by reporters and TV cameras and finally the Principal arrived with the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard who is also Commonwealth Minister for Education. With her was the State Minister for Education, Verity Firth, the Commonwealth Minister for Financial Services, Chris Bowen, who happens to be the local member and the State Minister for Finance and various other things, Joe Tripodi, who is also the local member.

So now we knew why there had been so much excitement especially by those in power within the school.  Only Tripodi came over to speak with me. He was obviously bored and went outside frequently to take phone messages.  He is a repulsive character who is known as a power broker, wheeling and dealing in politics, so speaking with him will not remain  memorable. Perhaps he thought I lived in his electorate, I don't.

The Deputy Prime Minister did smile and thank us as she swept out. I do like her very much. The photo shows her in the centre with one of the students. Tripodi is also in the frame. Not much was actually on TV. It is old news and the Death of Senator Edward Kennedy led the bulletins as the news was just breaking here in Australia.

Finally the most frustrating part of the week has been my Internet service which has been continually failing in a most haphazard way. Fortunately I could read emails at work and even some blogs although I had to be choosy in what I read.

I have had long phone calls with my ISP and 2 of the 4 technicians were almost impossible to understand. I felt like asking them what the weather was like in Mumbai. The most helpful had a strong American accent but at least I could understand him. The modem lights were all working but we finally decided it was causing the problem and not the line. So I have purchased a new modem for $90 (glad of the extra work this week) and things seem to have improved greatly. I feel most uncomfortable when my internet connection is down, quite cut off from the world which probably does not say much for my social interactions.

No work this week and although today is cold again, it promises to gradually warm so the garden must be attacked. The Spring blossoms and bulbs are appearing everywhere.

HealthCare

At the top of my blog, I have been counting down to St Patrick's Day. This has some significance as it is my birthday and this year I will be 65 and a senior citizen in the eyes of the Government.
In Australia we have had Medicare since the mid 1970's.
We all pay 1.5% of income levy on our tax.
When we attend a doctor, the fee may be bulkbilled in which we pay nothing and the doctor accepts the amount paid by the Government. Often we pay the doctor but take the receipt to the Medicare office and receive a rebate. I pay my usual doctor (now $55 a visit) and receive about $38 back. I sometimes go to the Medical centre and pay nothing but cannot book and usually wait for over an hour.
Hospitals can be free but you have to accept any doctor and if it is non-urgent you may have to wait a very long time (even a year).

Therefore I also have Private Medical Insurance. I now pay $120 per month for top cover. The Government subsidises this by 30% and the company cannot charge me more due to my age. (I will miss this when I move to NZ).

Thankfully I have not had to use this very often. I do get a new pair of glasses nearly every year which would be almost free except I have bifocals and transition lenses.
I get about 30% back from dental charges. When I had a back operation in 2003, I only paid $250 excess (once per year) as my doctor accepted the payment but many do not. The physiotherapy and all hospital charges were covered.

When I went to emergency with a heart scare (thankfully groundless) I was kept in overnight and it would have been free even without medical insurance but, as I elected to allow them to bill my insurance, I received a free morning newspaper and a cab fare back to the railway station :-).

However now I am to reach the age of 65 and will be eligible for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. There is an income test but it is quite high, about double my income. My regular doctor will now also bulk bill me for visits and my monthly prescription medicine bill will drop from over $120 to about $20. I will also get assistance with my telephone bill and money to assist with council rates, car registration and electricity. Worth counting down the days.
But there is more. I may be eligible for an Old Age Pension. More on this tomorrow.