The True Value Of Health Insurance – A Case Study

By Author: nicksmith
Total Articles: 993
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Lisa is a hardworking single woman now aged 30. One evening she noticed a lump in her throat that really worried her at the time. Early the next morning she rang her Doctor and was able to get an appointment later that day.

The Doctor agreed it was something that definitely needed to be checked. But of course without investigations it would not be known if it was benign or cancerous. The Doctor said she had two choices, she could be referred to a Specialist at the local public hospital but she would have to wait. He said it could be anytime between 2-6 months before she would be seen. Then depending on the result, if surgery was required it could be another 2-6 months. Maybe much more if it was deemed to be non urgent.

The second option was that he asked if Lisa had private health insurance. Lisa advised she had taken health insurance some 5 years earlier that included hospitalisation, surgery and specialists visits. The Doctor was then pleased to let Lisa know that her health insurance would probably provide her with cover for all the costs that would be involved.

Lisa spoke to us as her insurance brokers ...
... and also the insurance company. The great news was that the insurer immediately agreed she had a valid claim. Because she had private health insurance she was able to avoid all the public hospital waiting lists.

Three days after first noticing the lump Lisa had an appointment with a private Specialist after the referral from the Doctor. The Specialist was concerned enough to book her for exploratory surgery which was able to take place at a nearby private hospital just 2 days later. This type of surgery required just a day stay in the hospital and in the end Lisa was in and out in six hours.

The great news was that the lump was non cancerous but they removed it just to be sure. Lisa missed just one day at work and was so relieved to know that she was still in perfect health. The insurer paid the cost of her Specialist visit $400 and the hospitalisation and surgery costs of over $10000. Lisa just had to pay her $250 excess/deductible and the cost of the Doctor visit.

Lisa later said that if she had not purchased health insurance she would have been absolutely beside herself with worry for the next year as it could very likely have taken up to 12 months to find out whether she was actually seriously sick or not. And of even more worry was that if it had of been cancerous she was concerned just how much worse it could have been by the time she could start any treatment.

This is a classic example of why private health insurance is so important when the public hospital waiting lists are as long as they are at the moment in many countries.

For more information about Life Insurance, please visit www.insurancehelpline.co.nz