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.