Prescription meds for kids

I'm new to NZ and was under the impression that prescription meds for kids under a certain age were free (or close to), but recently my little one had tonsilitis and her meds cost us around $190?

Can anyone clear this up for me?

Mine are always free or think I have once paid $1. As MyCheekyMonkey said it may have something to do with citizinship?

I would ring the pharmacy you got them from and ask - also ask if you could have got cheaper ones as different companies make the same drug so often they have one that is cheaper than the other.

Not so much help this timebut might be for next time if you remember to ask your Gp at the time he is writing out your prescription.

Heck, even so $190 seems really excessive for children's dose of AB's for tonsillitis .....

MyCheekyMonkey wrote: Heck, even so $190 seems really excessive for children's dose of AB's for tonsillitis .....

2 bottles of AB's, a big bottle of painkiller (is it paracetamol?) and a bottle of something to clear her runny nose.

You would need to check that out, if that is the case and your VISA is like being an NZ cit then I would be asking the chemist what is going on.

Thanks - I'll definitely query the pharmacist next time round!

Here is the eligibility criteria for public health care in NZ (from the MOH website):

- A New Zealand citizen (including those NZ citizens who live in the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau)
- A child under 18 years who was born in NZ before 1 January 2006
- A child under 18 years who is under the legal guardianship of an eligible person
- A holder of a current NZ Residence Permit and has been in NZ for two years
- A holder of a Returning Resident’s Visa
- A pregnant woman with spouse/partner who is a NZ resident (maternity care only)
- A foreign worker with a work permit(s) for two years or more
- An Australian or UK resident requiring “immediate necessary treatment”
- A refugee with proof of status

If you qualify from the criteria up above, when it comes to subsided prescriptions, it can only be done the following ways:

- you have a Community Services Card, or
- you have been with the same Primary Health Organisation for at least 3 months (which means been with the same doctor for at least three months), or
- you have a Higher Use Prescription Card

So this is the reason why you had to pay the full cost of the prescriptions.

Sucks, I know, but there is only so much money floating around the health system.

I read that the same as you Peanut.

I work in a pharmacy and would say go and query now cos then you can have an answer while it is still current.
I cannot understand how it came to that much it seems way to excessive.

It sounds like that AzzaNZ's doctor has not changed the code that is used on prescription forms to say whether or she qualifies for subsidised meds. From memory, it should be A3, to qualify through being with the same PHO for 3 months.

But I say go back and query with the pharmacy and your doctor.