Here in NZ it is similar to Britian, infact we have a reciprocal health agreement with them, in other words my son can get free treatment over there, especially ,as he has the right of abode, not sure about a true blue kiwi..but I think so.

Her treatment would be free here, we pay per item on a presciption, people as myself on a lower income are fortunate to have a community services card which allows us to pay three dollars per item instead of around 15, we also get cheaper doctor's fees.

I do however have private medical insurance, it is very hard for us to afford, but I consider it a priority, because the waiting list is too long in Public hospital, if I have something serious needing attention I will go private, it only covers surgical treatment and specialist visits if we have surgery,but it is better than nothing, it costs around 1200 dollars a year for my whole family.,it will get more expensive as we get older, and that is when the worry will be, can we afford it then?

At present I had to wait for my daughter to see a specialist through the public system, because of a cancellation we were able to get in after only waiting 2 mths, that is pretty good , and it was not something that needed urgent treatment, it just depends on what you are waiting for.

We are always strongly urged to take out insurance when we travel, especially via the states.