Kathryn George / Stuff
New research from Finder shows that 1 in 3 New Zealanders has borrowed money to cover the cost of medical care.
One in three people need financial assistance to get healthcare in New Zealand, a survey shows.
The independent comparison platform Finder’s investigation found that more than 1.3 million New Zealanders had borrowed money to cover the cost of a media bill.
This had risen in the past two years – up from 30%, or 1.1 million people, in February 2020.
Of those who needed to borrow money, 16% chose a credit card, while 15% borrowed from friends or family.
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The survey of 1,507 people showed that 9% had taken out a subscription personal loan to cover medical costs.
Gen Z and millennials (both 45%) were most likely to borrow money for medical expenses, compared to 31% of Gen X and 20% of baby boomers.
In general, Gen Z is made up of 10 to 25 year olds, while millennials are around 26 to 41 years old.
Generation Xers are about 42 to 57 years old and Baby Boomers are 58 to 67 years old.
The Commission for Financial Capability referred to the usual types of loans with the financial knowledge of borrowers.
The medical director of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, Bryan Betty, told patients: can access disability support from Work and Income NZ for things like dental work, counseling and medical aids if they are not covered by the public system.
“This would be a significant number of patients,” he said.
“The other area we see is where patients raise money individually by borrowing or borrowing from relatives for medical procedures, often for surgeries not covered by public hospitals.”
KEVIN STENT/Things
Bryan Betty, medical director of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs, says patients have either borrowed money from relatives or tried to cash in their Kiwisaver early to fund procedures.
He had seen this especially in patients who needed bariatric (weight loss) surgery, because that was denied by the public system, he said.
“Other times, patients have borrowed money from family or tried to cash in their KiwiSaver early to fund the procedure.”
This was the case for Taranaki wife Justine Shera, who withdrew her KiwiSaver for the $25,000 operation after losing and gaining the same 40 pounds three times in her adult life and wanting to be there for her 11-year-old son Aiden.
Personal finance expert at Finder, Kylie Purcell, said medical debt was a worrying trend.
“Households are being pushed into debt by medical bills they can’t pay,” Purcell said.
“Unlike a mortgage or a car loan, medical debts are often incurred involuntarily.”
VANESSA LAURIE/Things
Justine Shera used her Kiwisaver to pay for bariatric (weight loss) surgery.
Purcell said unpaid medical debts can hurt a patient’s creditworthiness.
“It’s a good idea to get health insurance to protect against unexpected medical bills.”
The Financial Services Council NZ says the number of New Zealanders with health insurance is slowly rising.
Statistics show that 1.45 million New Zealanders were covered by private health insurance in December 2021, compared to 1.42 million in March 2021.
That equates to 39% of the adult population.
The percentage is still significantly below Australia, where 55% of the population has health insurance.