Clergy

You are eligible to apply to the Health Fund if you are an Anglican clergyperson residing in Aotearoa New Zealand or a country within the Diocese of Polynesia who:

• has retired from stipendiary ministry, is receiving a pension from the Pension Fund, and either holds a Bishop’s licence or permission to officiate or held one at the time of your retirement

or

• is not a member of the Pension Fund, aged 65 or older, not in fulltime paid or stipended work and holds a Bishop’s licence or permission to officiate.

Clergy widows and widowers

You are eligible to apply to the Health Fund if you are the surviving spouse of a deceased Anglican clergyperson who was eligible for assistance from the Health Fund and you are residing in Aotearoa New Zealand or a country within the Diocese of Polynesia.

If you want to seek assistance from the Health Fund, you need to complete an application form. Send the completed form to us, along with proof of the cost of your treatment (e.g. receipt, invoice).

You can receive a grant for 80% of the claimable cost of each eligible treatment category, up to specified limits. Only individual treatments which cost $200 or more can be claimed.

The eligible treatment categories and limits are:

More information is available in the Grants Schedule.

You cannot apply for treatment costs that are not covered in the Grants Schedule. Excluded treatments include:

• Any individual treatment that costs less than $200
• General Practitioner (GP) consultation fee
• Prescription charges
• Physiotherapy
• Services of a psychologist or counsellor
• Treatments for which the cost is recoverable from ACC, a Health Insurance Policy or other sources
• Treatments from persons other than those registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand or equivalent in the Diocese of Polynesia (e.g. podiatry, homeopathy, chiropractic treatments)

You can apply for the costs incurred by your spouse if they are not in fulltime employment. Your spouse has the same entitlements as you and the grants are separate to yours. You can both claim under each eligible treatment category, up to the specified limits.

You do not have to pay an annual contribution or a premium to the Health Fund. However, you will need to pay for that part of the cost not paid for by the Health Fund.

You must send your application within six months of the date of treatment.

You can apply for assistance with costs relating to an existing medical condition provided the claim falls within the eligible treatment categories.

If you have medical insurance you must make a claim to the medical insurer in the first instance. After all, you have paid premiums for the coverage. You can make a claim to the Health Fund for any costs not paid by your medical insurer if they meet the Health Fund conditions.

You cannot make a claim for medical treatments which occurred outside the country you live in (Aotearoa New Zealand or one of the countries within the Diocese of Polynesia). If you are traveling overseas, we strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance.

If you are struggling to pay the costs not met by the Health Fund then you could apply to the Welfare Fund for help.

The Welfare Fund is means-tested so you will need to provide personal financial information as part of the application.