luckies4me, I have private medical insurance, a lot of new zealanders choose not to, but it is only for surgical cover, and it costs me 600 dollars per year for my family of four, but we only get specialist fees paid back if we have surgery, like with Melissa, I did not get any of the fees back, but hey I did not care, as she did not need surgery yay!!!!!

I pay 25 dollars a doctors visit, and less for children, the hospital is free at this stage, but there is a long waiting list.

Just comparing prices, the consultant visit for melissa was $120, second visit only $40 and $225 for the IVP, that is not bad really.

We here complain about our health service, but I guess it is comparatively cheap compared to other countries.