Prescription meds for kids
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20342
Printed Date: 10 November 2025 at 9:38pm
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Topic: Prescription meds for kids
Posted By: AzzaNZ
Subject: Prescription meds for kids
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 2:22pm
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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? |
Replies:
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 2:24pm
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Hmm that doesn't sound right at all....I wonder if thats anything to do with not being a NZ citizen?
I certainly wouldn't be paying that much for AB's  ------------- Single Mum to a darling wee boy of 3 years :) |
Posted By: Peanut
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 2:30pm
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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. -------------  
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 5:38pm
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If you are not a NZ resident/citizen you have to pay the full price for the meds, dr visits etc. If youa re in the process of getting NZ res/cit then maybe ask at the cit office if there is anything you can do to get cheaper meds and visits. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 6:10pm
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Heck, even so $190 seems really excessive for children's dose of AB's for tonsillitis ..... ------------- Single Mum to a darling wee boy of 3 years :) |
Posted By: AzzaNZ
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 6:10pm
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I thought if your visa was for longer than two years you received the same treatment medically as an NZ citizen?
I know my blood tests a month ago were free. I'll ask at the pharmacy next time - its just made me scared she gets sick again because we cant afford it
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Posted By: AzzaNZ
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 6:13pm
2 bottles of AB's, a big bottle of painkiller (is it paracetamol?) and a bottle of something to clear her runny nose. |
MyCheekyMonkey wrote:Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 6:18pm
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Still sounds a lot ....compared to getting it for free lol!
I'd definitely be questioning the pharmacy when you're next there ...I had friends from Ireland in my antenatal class & they didn't have residency, their boy was quite sickly and they never once complained about medical fees/prescription fees ....mind you, I guess it's diff because he was born here, therefore making him a NZ Citizen ....so ignore me lol  ------------- Single Mum to a darling wee boy of 3 years :) |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 6:29pm
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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. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 7:18pm
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It would be cheaper for you to just go to a chemist and buy paracetamol (Pamol) for $20 a bottle.
Meds do cost heaps if u are not entitled to any subsidy. All citisens are entiled to subsidised meds,...even full-fee paying adults only pay a subsidised fee of $15 per prescription item (for most meds), the actual cost is usually far more than this. |
Posted By: AzzaNZ
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 9:09pm
| Thanks - I'll definitely query the pharmacist next time round! |
Posted By: Mama2two
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 8:38am
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That sounds like a total rip off! My DD has tonsilitis at the moment and it cost us $2 for the antibiotics and paracetamol. I just looked at the receipt and it said that the full total cost if we had paid for it without the subsidy would have only been $7.98 & $8.40 each for the bottles anyway! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Mum2L
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 7:58pm
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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. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Peanut
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 1:22pm
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Shouldn't she then be free and her prescription subsidised as she in on a longer visa whihc would have to point number 7 and as long as she has been to the same dr for 3 months she should be swee with prescirptions or have I read that wrong? -------------
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 1:27pm
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I read that the same as you Peanut. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: SMoody
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 3:15pm
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Azza go back and query. McKayla has always been covered under the free meds and we have been treated as a regular resident as we were on a longer than 2 year visa.
Dont wait for next time do it now. Take copies of your work permit ect and clear it up with them. She should be covered. (unless they change it over the weekend or something). ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: pip1
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 4:45pm
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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. |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 4:52pm
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Definatly go back! Take your reciepts and everything! ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: Mum2L
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 7:13pm
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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. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
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