Southern Cross Health Insurance chief executive Nick Astwick (pictured) sees the insurer’s tie-up with Waikato-Tainui as a major step towards helping remove access barriers to healthcare. Here the CEO talks about the friendly society’s first material partnership with an iwi and what he believes this means for both camps moving forward.
Referring to a recent poll by Southern Cross, Astwick told Insurance Business: “You saw the numbers – 78% of Maaori concerned about access; 50% of Maaori happy with their health; and 62% concerned about not being able to afford it. So, barriers to the health system are perceived and real within Maaoridom.”
Under the Waikato-Tainui Kaumaatua health insurance scheme, registered tribal members aged 60 and above have the option to access Southern Cross’s HealthEssentials plan via the iwi’s annual kaumaatua grant. Valued at $1,250, the policy covers consultations with general practitioners, dentists, and optometrists, as well as dental treatment and prescription glasses or contact lenses.
The plan also spans acupuncture and services from physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, registered massage therapists, and dieticians or nutritionists.
“It’s a value to access all of those,” highlighted the CEO, whose camp has been on a cultural competency journey. “Affordability is real. We’re trying to find a way to remove the barriers to access. One of those is affordability, and this helps with that.”
Astwick continued: “We know that it is a very large market out there with very different needs, but one of them is access. They are looking to ensure their kaumaatua and their iwi have access to healthcare, so anything that breaks down those barriers is really important to them. So, this is a great partnership where we’ve come up with a solution for their kaumaatua.”
Waikato-Tainui has around 14,000 kaumaatua who are encouraged to access the HealthEssentials offering.
When the tie-up was unveiled, Waikato-Tainui general manager for heritage & identity Glenda Taituha described the iwi’s elders as the connectors of their people.
“If they better understand health and wellness, then they can bring the whaanau along on the journey,” said Taituha. “It’s vital that our kaumaatua receive more culturally appropriate and supportive care, and we see this partnership as a step towards achieving that. Amohia ake te ora o te iwi. The health and well-being of our people is paramount.”
Meanwhile, when Astwick sat down with Insurance Business following the rollout, he pointed to the broader implications of the partnership.
“It is really, really important for Southern Cross to be able to offer products and experiences highly relevant to iwi,” he declared. “It’s really key for us to do this. We want to make sure we’re relevant to Maaori; there’s no doubt about it. I’m most excited about working with Maaori in generating more healthier years for their iwi. That’s the reason why we’re doing this. That’s why Southern Cross exists – it’s empowering our members to live the healthiest life they can, and this is a really good example.
“So, we’re at the start line and we want to get as many of their kaumaatua enrolled. And then what we’re going to look at is, how are they accessing the healthcare? What are different services that we can put in our products and our policies that are really relevant to Maaori? And some of those sorts of things are relevant to Maaori and non-Maaori as well, so it will help us expand our product range and what we fund, to ensure that it meets the needs of this group – because there are different needs.”
The Southern Cross boss went on to state: “So, we’ll shape our products of the future as well. First step: large commitment. Things will change into the product sets as we evolve. But we’re on this journey, and we’ve got high conviction to make sure that we do generate more healthy years for Maaori.”
Now available under the iwi’s kaumaatua grant, the Waikato-Tainui Kaumaatua health insurance scheme was introduced this week, and Astwick said they are in the launch phase for the next couple of months.
“We’ll look back at how we’ve gone in that first year, and then look again for the second year and the third year and the fourth year,” he added. “This is a really long-term partnership. If you understand iwi and Maaori, they plan for 100 years, so I like to think we’re at the start of a 100-year journey. We’ll get a good gauge of what happens in the next two to three months, and then we’ll work with the iwi around how we shape it going forward.”
