Cheaper to have major surgery in Ireland or NZ?

balkieb2002

Hi,

Ok so its strange question and something I didn't expect to be asking!
So is it cheaper to have major surgery (chest area for me) in New Zealand (My current location) or at home?

Something was found recently in an xray (for my immigration medical of all time!) in my upper chest that requires major surgery in the near future to remove.
I have lived and worked in Wellington for last 11+ months and I am now very settled here.
(Had no intentions of going home for at least a couple more years.).

1st problem is that my visa expires in just over two weeks but I have confirmed with immigration, that I can stay here on medical visa and have the surgery. Once its confirmed gone then I can apply for permit/residency.
Anyone ever get one of these?

Work have been very supportive for me, which is good as I will need over a month recovery time, so time off should not be a problem.

So I am left with the issue of cost!
If I have it here it may cost anywhere from $5000+ (i really have no ideas but have been making enquiries).
If I fly home i'll have the cost of the flights plus the price of medical bills (once again no idea on medical cost).

Anyone have any similair situations? What did you do?

terencemc

Not sure if this applies but have you checked out the reciprocal agreement between Australia, new Zealand and Ireland. My friend had an eye infection in Christchurch and went to the hospital 4 times and didn't have to pay a penny....may be worth looking into.

The_B_Man

hey balkie,

my missus had to get an abscess removed from her chest here in perth. that was totally free under the reciprocal agreement. thats a minor op tho. she did have 3 days in hospital tho, and like i said, 100% free.

edit, sorry balkie, no reciprocal agreement. me bro was there and had to pay.

also:
http://www.nzembassy.com/info.cfm?CFID=402&CFTOKEN=86934083&c=14&l=56&s=nz&p=600


Can you take out medical insurance? Here in oz they have deals where u can claim as soon as u sign up. try for them, else ur gonna be buggered.

terencemc

Info to get you started...I have the pdf file but it wont upload...

You are covered for the duration of your approved visit and covers any medical necessary treatment which occurs in NZ and requires treatment before you return home.

balkieb2002

Cheers for the replies.

Yeah unfortunately from what I have read thus far on the immigration sites is that as Bman says there is no reciprocal medical agreement between NZ and Ireland which is where the problem lies. (There is one in OZ i think)
I have been to hosp once here (something minor) but did not get charged that time. This though is probably a 4-5hr operation and easily around a week in hospital plus checkups so will cost a bit more.

terencemc where did you see that documentation (pdf file)? If you can't attach it, I've sent you a PM with my email address.

Mrs OBumble

Don't you have travel insurance? (Surely you thought about what would happen if ....)

Ok, assuming not, you will need to pay the full private cost either way: you don't have reciprocal right in NZ, and you don't have ordinary residence in Ireland so have no rights to go public their either.

Get busy researching actual costs from private hospitals and specialists. Get a family member in Ireland to do the same.

(Yes, this sound harsh. Sorry for your troubles and all ....)

balkieb2002

Hi JustMary,

My medical insurance expired when my ticket did (couple months ago) and haven't updated it yet (hindsight is great!)

I figured out we don't have an reciprocal medical rights in NZ by asking around though I'm not sure what you mean by

and you don't have ordinary residence in Ireland so have no rights to go public their either.

Are you saying as I haven't lived there for the last year alone (but have for previous X years) I'm not entitled to use the public health care system?

Sorry if that sounds angry, its just confused me a bit.
Really appreciate your answers as my time here is running short.


::Edit::

Hmmm should be covered...

www.citizensinformation.ie wrote:

Ordinary residence

Your pattern of residence over a number of years is taken into account to decide your ‘ordinary residence’.
If you have been resident for the previous three tax years then you become ordinarily resident from the start of the fourth year. If you leave the country, you will continue to be ordinarily resident until you have been non-resident for three continuous tax year

kittex

Not in NZ but just wanted to clarify about the reciprocal agreements. They are exactly that - same for same, they give us what we could give them.
We cannot offer major surgery to people for free, so they don't offer it to us. In general, the most the Irish get abroad is free emergency care.

Really hope you get this done soon OP and your recovery is speedy.

balkieb2002

Yeah that was the first thing I looked into but saw that the agreement was with OZ only (not that it would have mattered).
My only hope of having it here cheaper is to get it through an agreement with work.
What I failed to mention earlier is I actually work for the hopsital where I will be having the operation (main Hospital in Wellington) doing IT and have worked since my arrival. What pisses me off is I recently signed a 2 year contract extension so I'm hoping they take that into consideration.

Will keep ya updated on progress or if I find out anything new.

The_B_Man

balkie, try get some health insurance pronto. through work or whoever. looks like ur gonna have to fork out something, at least the insurance will cover some of it.

watna

Op - on a WHV in NZ you're not covered for anything, AFAIK. I was ill a few times when on a WHV and even had to pay privately to get the tests done to find out what was wrong with me. Blood tests and scans cost me about $400. I got no government subsidy for anything - even at the family planning clinic I had to pay non NZ resident fees which were twice the price of the normal fees. It was one of the main reasons that I hated being on a WHV - it's not really a visa that enables you to live properly in the country - it's intended for travel and a bit of work to keep you going.

I don't think anyone here can answer your question fully. I would talk to your doctor and get them to find out how much you will have to pay. In my experience you will have to pay privately to get it done - you're not entitled to government assistance.

Best of luck with the surgery. Your health should be your number one priority so hope you get it sorted.

balkieb2002

watna wrote: »

Op - on a WHV in NZ you're not covered for anything, AFAIK. I was ill a few times when on a WHV and even had to pay privately to get the tests done to find out what was wrong with me. Blood tests and scans cost me about $400. I got no government subsidy for anything - even at the family planning clinic I had to pay non NZ resident fees which were twice the price of the normal fees. It was one of the main reasons that I hated being on a WHV - it's not really a visa that enables you to live properly in the country - it's intended for travel and a bit of work to keep you going.

I don't think anyone here can answer your question fully. I would talk to your doctor and get them to find out how much you will have to pay. In my experience you will have to pay privately to get it done - you're not entitled to government assistance.

Best of luck with the surgery. Your health should be your number one priority so hope you get it sorted.

Yeah watna, its something I really have noticed and of course the ironic thing is this happend when I was trying to get residency or work permit which would have entitled me to more benefits.

Looks like I may have gotten my answer too!

A price for a lobectomy of the lung + hospital stay is over $16,000 and any longer its nearly an additional $1,000 a day. (This doens't include additional costs e.g. costs of First Specialist Assessments, Follow ups, Radiology or other procedures I may need!
Oh and they require 80% of the money up front!!

Thanks for your kind word as well!