“Even if a mutual health agreement covers you, it doesn`t cover people at home – if there`s a medical emergency with family members in New Zealand, full travel insurance will pay your way home and pay for you to resume your trip.” New Zealand has mutual health agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom (United Kingdom). At any time, some services may be funded by public funds for those covered by the agreements. These services can be funded to the same extent as for a national of the country they are visiting or staying temporarily. Travel insurance can help cover the costs if you need to see a doctor or the cost of replacing your belongings if they have been stolen or damaged. Travel insurance can even pay the insurance bill if you hit your rental car. An Australian citizen or permanent resident who has been in New Zealand for two years or more or who can prove that he or she intends to stay in New Zealand for two years or more is entitled to all publicly funded services and may register with a PHO and receive the same health grants as a full person. Check out the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) This will tell you all about your coverage and its restrictions. Be sure to add all the extras you need, such as extra snow coverage or car rental, and explain all the existing conditions you have. When you purchase a policy, you agree to have read the SDP and accept its terms. Medicare (external link) is the publicly funded health care system in Australia. The UK Mutual Health Agreement is limited to British nationals and does not apply to permanent residents of the United Kingdom. (2) Note that the United Kingdom considers “temporary stay” to be a stay of up to six months. New Zealanders travelling to the UK for more than six months will continue to have access to the National Health Service, but will be required to pay a health supplement for immigration issues from 6 April 2016 as part of their visa application.

For more information, please visit the www.gov.uk website. They ensure that New Zealand citizens receive free emergency care and accidents when they travel to these countries on a short-term level. So you need your passport, not your credit card. In the case of Australia, travellers are entitled to medical care. You have to take care of diseases or injuries that can`t wait for you to come home (such as the crash of a staircase) and care that covers Medicare, the universal health care system funded by Australia. Josh Martin is a Kiwi journalist living in London who writes about travel, tourism, the economy and consumer issues between trips to places you`d rather be. E-mail josh.martin@stuff.co.nz if you have a travel problem on which it should write from it. When a person receives services as part of the mutual agreement, they cannot register with a primary health organization (PHA).

You should receive the same health grants as a New Zealand citizen who visits a family doctor as a casual patient when the doctor has decided that the condition requires immediate attention. You can register with a family doctor and you must receive an NHI number if they do not have one yet. New Zealanders living in Australia permanently or in the long term may eventually receive free emergency care and some medical services under a mutual health agreement. Natalie Ball, Director of Comparetravelinsurance.co.nz said: “New Zealand`s mutual health agreements do not cover ambulance transport, family doctor visits, dental care or certain medications. From a small medical excursion with gastro to a serious accident, a big effort could fall into their pocket.