In the Journal this week, I'm thinking about safe-guarding our health with some insurance!
I've also added in a super simple kid-friendly snack recipe and some ideas to get those fine-motor skills going in your little ones!
Enjoy!
Our house is just like yours I'd imagine; careful budgets, extortionate living costs, unexpected outgoings all contributing to a tight hold over the wallet.
When there is free or subsidised access to health care, does health insurance need to factor into that too?
I know absolutely nothing about it and it's taken me all day to get my thoughts together about it all. So, I put together this post to help any of you out there who are also about to dive into those murky depths!
So, what does it cover?
I've found there are endless variations of packages available. Basically, you can choose cover for hospital (surgery/treatments/tests/after-care) or everyday (dentist/doctor/opticians) or you can combine and cover both. Some, for example AA split their hospital cover into two; putting specialist diagnostic and after-care separately to in-hospital cover.
But...there's a catch!
Looking into this today has made my head hurt; trying to read between the lines of what each company actually offers. You think you are onto a good deal but...you trudge on through the legal mumbo-jumbo and realise that, actually, the small print holds some nuggets of gloom.
*waiting periods before you can claim
*payment limits (e.g. can only claim up to $750 per year for dental)
*some require you to pay up front without guarantee of a refund
*some will cover 'pre-exisiting' conditions but check their exemption list
*most will only partially refund your costs e.g. 60%
*non-PHARMAC approved cancer treatments are not always covered
*some specify where you can be treated in order to have a claim accepted
What does it cost?
Taking an average for the companies I looked into, for my family of 3 (2 adults, 1 toddler, non-smokers), it looks like we would be paying out $60 a week minimum for our health cover. On average, prices started at $15 per adult, per week for a single option (e.g. just everyday cover) ranging to $25 per adult , per week for a combination package. All the companies I looked into offer an online quote, but I found out that if you call you can often get a better price. You can also get a more flexible package over the phone. For example, NIB offered a price package where my son had a different insurance set up to my husband and I; something that wasn't possible on the website.
So what makes it worth the extra expense?
There are a lot of 'cons' to consider but...is health insurance our safety net, just like our car/house/travel cover? We don't plan for our houses to burn down or an overseas accident to happen. I certainly didn't plan on crashing my car but, when I did, I was covered. Should we fork out for high premiums, push our budgets even further?
In a nutshell, health insurance gives you three things:
1/the ability to skip the waiting lines and be treated quicker
2/access to private hospitals, surgeries, specialists and after-care
3/refunds or fully paid for treatments, giving you a chance at treatments you might not have afforded.
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I know lots of people who say it's an absolute necessity and that it's literally saved their lives. Even with that though, I'm still very sceptical about health insurance. $240 a month to cover us for something that might never happen. A cancer that will, hopefully, not take hold or a disease that won't darken our door.
But...we don't know for sure.
If the worst were to happen, before we sort out health insurance, I'll probably curse myself for not getting it sooner! Right now though, with a single income budget and a growing family, I just don't know if the pros outweigh the cons; all the provisos and costs play too much on my mind.
For now, I think I'll stick with the good old public system!
To any of you out there stepping out into the world of health insurance...
Good luck!
I looked into the big companies here in New Zealand; NIB, Sovereign, Southern Cross, Kiwicover and AA. Just to say, there are lots out there and you should do the research and seek advice specific to yourself before committing. This is post is for reference only.
*Busy Fingers
Talking with 'teacher hat' on, it's a great idea to start developing gross and fine motor skills as early as you can.
Obviously, it's up to you how small you want to go with the items; but my advice, start bigger (a plum is a good size to go off) and work down. Starting bigger gives them a sense of success and makes them eager to keep going.
When they are ready, introducing tweezers adds extra fun and gets them strengthening their hand muscles...so important for skills later on!
These two activities were a big hit with
my son! He's about 1 year old in these
photos, just to show you how soon you can
get started with fine motor skill play.
*Let's Bake*
This recipe was a total fluke one day when I had to use only what I had left in the cupboard! So easy to put together and they freeze really well...yum!
You need:
2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 cup creamed corn
1 cup grated cheese
Method:
1/ put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined
2/spoon into muffin cases
3/bake for about 10 minutes (until firm) in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees.
Easy as that!
Well, that's the end of another Journal...
Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoy this week's tips and have a great week!
As always, any feedback or comments please get in touch!