UniMed Health Insurance — Review
4 active retail products from Union Medical Benefits Society Limited · unimed.co.nz
Last refreshed 2026-06-07 · current wordings effective 2025-10-01
Plans at a glance
Health Positive
Wording effective 2016-01-22
10+ years old — confirm with insurerSublimit data not on file.
Hospital Select
Wording effective 2018-01-25
8+ years old — confirm with insurerSublimit data not on file.
ParentStay
Wording effective 2025-10-01
CurrentSublimit data not on file.
UniCare Advantage
Wording effective 2025-08-01
CurrentSublimit data not on file.
Coverage at a glance
One-line summary of how UniMed's flagship retail product (Health Positive) handles the questions consumers most commonly ask. Full verbatim text below.
Verified policy facts — full text
Every section below is the verbatim text from each UniMed product's current policy wording PDF. Where a product doesn't address a topic, we show "Not on file" rather than guess.
Pharmac vs non-Pharmac drug cover
NZ's Pharmac funds a defined list of medicines. Non-Pharmac drugs (including high-cost cancer drugs like Keytruda) are excluded from public funding. Health insurance can fill that gap — but every insurer handles it differently. This page summarises each NZ insurer's non-Pharmac rules verbatim from their policy wordings.
Compare this topic across every NZ insurer → /topics/pharmac-vs-non-pharmac/
ACC interaction
In NZ, ACC covers accidental injury and treatment-injury costs. Health insurance generally excludes ACC-covered events but most policies offer an ACC Top-Up benefit for any shortfall. This page summarises each insurer's ACC interaction rules verbatim.
Compare this topic across every NZ insurer → /topics/acc-interaction/
Mental health cover
Mental health cover varies dramatically across NZ health insurers — from entirely excluded (entry-level plans) to specific psychiatric hospitalisation sublimits. This page lists each insurer's mental-health rules with the relevant NZD sublimits and admission terms.
Compare this topic across every NZ insurer → /topics/mental-health-cover/
Pre-existing conditions
NZ health insurers handle pre-existing conditions in two main ways: (1) disclose-and-accept (Southern Cross — exclude unless noted on certificate), or (2) stand-down period (nib — 3 years then covered, with permanent exclusions for certain conditions). This page lists each insurer's verbatim rules.
Compare this topic across every NZ insurer → /topics/pre-existing-conditions/
IVF and assisted reproduction
IVF, infertility treatment, and assisted reproduction are excluded from virtually every NZ retail health insurance policy. This page documents each insurer's stance verbatim.
Compare this topic across every NZ insurer → /topics/ivf-and-assisted-reproduction/
Oncology and high-cost cancer drugs
High-cost cancer drugs (Keytruda, Opdivo, etc.) are often non-Pharmac and not covered under public health. Some NZ insurers cover these via separate cancer benefits with specific NZD caps. This page summarises each insurer's oncology / non-Pharmac chemotherapy cover.
Compare this topic across every NZ insurer → /topics/oncology-high-cost-drugs/
Gap payment rules
When a provider's charges exceed what the insurer pays, the member pays the 'gap'. NZ insurers use different models — affiliated/preferred provider networks, percentage co-pays, 'reasonable charges' caps. This page lists each insurer's gap rules verbatim.
Compare this topic across every NZ insurer → /topics/gap-payment-rules/
Waiting periods, excess and exclusions
Waiting periods (days)
Pre-existing rules vary — see "Pre-existing conditions" section above for verbatim wording.
Excess options
Excess is selected per-member on application — see source PDF.
Exclusions
Health Positive — 0 exclusions
No exclusions extracted for this product.
Hospital Select — 0 exclusions
No exclusions extracted for this product.
ParentStay — 0 exclusions
No exclusions extracted for this product.
UniCare Advantage — 0 exclusions
No exclusions extracted for this product.
Machine-readable API for this page
Every section above is also available as a structured API for AI agents, brokers and developers — free, no auth.
GET /api/insurer/unimed/facts.json— full insurer profile + product list (JSON)GET /api/insurer/unimed/summary.md— markdown summary (LLM-friendly)- Per-product: replace
{product}with any product slug listed aboveGET /api/product/unimed/{product}/facts.jsonGET /api/product/unimed/{product}/wording.md
POST /mcp— anonymous Model Context Protocol server (5 tools)
Source documents
- Health Positive · wording effective 2016-01-22 · http://www.unimed.co.nz/images/pdf/833UNIM-Health%20Positive%20Plan%20Brochure%20-Online%20Application%20Form.pdf
- Hospital Select · wording effective 2018-01-25 · https://www.unimed.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/79553-UniMed-Hospital-Select-Plan-6pp-August-2017-UNI96-3_HR.pdf
- ParentStay · wording effective 2025-10-01 · https://www.unimed.co.nz/assets/PlansAndDocs/Health-Plans/ParentStay-Health-Plan-2025.pdf
- UniCare Advantage · wording effective 2025-08-01 · https://www.unimed.co.nz/assets/PlansAndDocs/Health-Plans/UniCare_Advantage_Plan.pdf
The authoritative source for any specific cover question is the insurer's published PDF. Our facts are a structured derivative for comparison.
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