Why everyone needs medical insurance
Living your best life requires a healthy life. Sometimes, there are genetic or environmental factors outside of your control that mean you cannot protect against developing an illness, but you can control how and when you access medical treatment and start the road to recovery faster to get you back to living your best life.
Increasing hospital waiting lists, longer life expectancy and an aging population are primary reasons why New Zealanders are seeking medical health insurance. More importantly, taking medical insurance at a younger age reduces the risk of exclusions which are pre-existing conditions an insurance company will not cover you for.
In March 2022, the Health Minister reported the number of New Zealanders waiting longer to have their first appointment with a hospital specialist doubled since February 2020 with 26,764 people waiting four months or longer (an increase of 228%). Private medical insurance allows you to avoid these long waitlists, enabling earlier diagnosis to start treatment plans faster and get you back to living your best life quicker.
Moreover, we have an aging population and there are also growing concerns that the future labor force and working taxpayer base will not be able to sustain a quality and equitable future healthcare system in its current structure for all New Zealanders. The current proportion of the population aged 65+ (or retirement age) is 16% which is expected to grow to 26% by 2048 and to 34% by 2073. The median age of a New Zealander increased from 26 years in 1970 to 38 years in 2013 and which is expected to grow to 40 years by 2030 and +47 years by 2073.
Statistics also tell us New Zealanders are living longer; on average 12.8 years longer for men and 12.2 years longer for women compared to just 70 years ago. This means you have a higher probability of illness due to accumulated risk over a longer period, so you need to access timely and quality healthcare when you need it.
Medical technology is improving but illnesses still outpace accidents as the cause of death as reported by the Ministry of Health with statistics significantly higher for cancer, heart attacks and strokes (caused ischaemic heart diseases and cerebrovascular diseases).
Take out medical insurance, get the right solution to suit your unique situation and get it as young as possible to avoid exclusions.
To find out more about medical insurance, book a time with James Gray to talk about its value in a financial strategy and find out the best structure for you.
