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Health
Chat.
Your regular catch-up with UniMed.
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Member edition #1 — July 2021.
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Kia ora,
Welcome to HealthChat, your new regular catch-up with UniMed.
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Here’s where you’ll find all the latest information on our society, of which you are an important member.
Along with interesting news, views and handy policy tips and guides, you’ll be able to let us know your thoughts and how well our plans work for you. We realise we haven’t chatted for quite a while but that’s something we wanted to change.
To kick-off our first edition, we’d like you to meet Louise Zacest, our new CEO.
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In today’s modern world, private health insurance is more important than ever, and it’s one of the reasons I joined UniMed this year as the new CEO, to share my passion for ensuring New Zealanders, like you, have better access to the healthcare you need.
As a not-for-profit society that’s been around for 42 years, UniMed is well placed to help our members access much needed healthcare and with nearly 100,000 New Zealanders trusting UniMed with their health insurance, we felt it was time to start a more regular communication with you.
I’d love to hear from you on what you’d like to see in these updates as well as any feedback on your experience with UniMed, you can reach me anytime at ceo@unimed.co.nz.
Ngā mihi nui,
Louise
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HealthNews.
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Did you know we’ve just extended two special wellbeing benefits for all members for another 12 months?
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Special mental health wellbeing benefits
Mental health needs have rightly become a focus over the last year, and we’ve responded. With up to 50% refunded on consultations with psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors. And we’re pleased to announce that every one of our members can now access this benefit until 30 June 2022.
Special flu vaccine wellbeing benefit
If the government or your employer doesn’t cover you for the flu vaccine don’t worry, we’ve got you. With up to $30 per person on your policy this is one special benefit you may want to take advantage of now, with the cold really setting in. Available to every member until 30 June 2022.
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HealthFacts.
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Because we’re a not-for-profit society, our goal is to cover the cost of much needed healthcare for members, putting our members’ interests and health needs first. As a result, we make sure we maintain strong financial reserves so you have the security of knowing we’re here when you need us, now and in the future.
FACT
The total value of claims paid out over the last quarter was $20,525,808.
FACT
The top four individual claims by value we paid for members during the last quarter were:
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$108,477 spinal surgery
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$84,250 cancer resection
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$74,826 cardiac surgery
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$72,700 spinal surgery.
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We don’t see these as just impressive figures. To us, they represent people’s lives transformed through better health outcomes and families secure in the knowledge we have their best health interests at heart.
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HealthGuides.
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Each month we’ll give you handy tips and guides on how to make every interaction with UniMed as easy as possible.
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Guide #1 Keep your membership number handy.
We often ask for your membership number when you contact us so we can quickly and easily check that it’s you, in order to process your claim or request faster. This update includes your membership number in the top right hand corner.
Keep it in a safe place so that you can easily find and refer to it when you need to, meaning one less thing to worry about. You’ll also find your membership number on all other correspondence from us.
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HealthSimple.
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We’re always looking for ways to make claiming for your health needs easier, so we’ve made some changes to the way you can do this, based on what you’ve told us.
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Proof of payment is no longer required with claims, simply include the invoice from your provider.
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You can claim for any amount, we’ve removed the $50 minimum claim requirement.
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If you have vision cover under your policy, you can now claim for contact lenses or glasses without having a change of vision. This change is effective from 1 June 2021.
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We’re removing the need to provide a confirmation of surgery form, and removing the GP report from prior approval requests.
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While everyone’s cognitive capabilities do decline as we age, it’s interesting to note that most of this is not due to aging itself. In one study, exercise stimulated the human brain’s ability to maintain old network connections and make new ones that are vital to cognitive health. So the good news is that even if you’ve been sedentary, starting to exercise in later years will still make a positive difference. Because it’ll help your mind stay fit too.
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HealthChat.
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We want to chat with you more often. So for any enquiries you can always speak to your advisor or call us Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm on 0800 600 666, or email us at members@unimed.co.nz, our friendly team are here to help.
Our AGM is being held in Christchurch on 4 November 2021. Look out for the notices placed in the newspaper and on our website on 21 August 2021.
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And, if you’d like to share your UniMed experience or story with us, please write to us with all the details at members@unimed.co.nz, and if you agree, we may feature you in an upcoming HealthChat newsletter. We’d love to hear from you.
Did you know we’re now on LinkedIn too?
Follow us here.
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