Are you Eligible for publicly funded health and disability
care
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.
Check to see if you are Eligible for publicly funded health and
disability services.
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. If you have
further questions you can phone the eligibility coordinator
Tauranga Hospital: 07 579 8189
Whakatāne Hospital: 07 3060771
Receiving Treatment
If you are not eligible for publicly funded health and
disability services, you will still receive treatment, but you will
have to pay for it. If the treatment you require is not an
emergency you may be asked to pre-pay for your care.
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 require
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 patient must meet the eligibility criteria in their own
right, or if you are receiving Maternity Services you may be able
to gain eligibility through your husband or partner.
If you are not eligible we recommend you get health
insurance. Hospital care can be extremely expensive.
Proof of Eligibility
Checking people's eligibility is the responsibility of all
health providers who provide publicly funded health and disability
services. When you visit Tauranga or Whakatāne Hospital you
may be asked for proof of your eligibility. If you haven't
provided this previously please bring your passport, or birth
certificate, or citizenship certificate with you.
Last updated:
July 16, 2020