On the day Snells Beach resident Joe Bannister turned 70, his wife June was undergoing radiation treatment following the removal of a cancerous growth on her breast.
A year on, June is well and living life to the full. Yet if not for a decision the couple made four years earlier, things could have been very different - they could have been left facing a $23,000 bill to pay for the treatment.
Retired moteliers, the Bannisters were stunned when the growth was detected during a regular mammogram in late 2015. Because it was small and considered low-risk, treatment through the public health system - an operation followed by up to 25 radiation doses - was expected to be spread over three months.
"I thought, oh heck," Joe recalls "here comes months of drama."
They were then given an alternative - immediately undergo a ground-breaking new treatment known as intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) involving just a single dose of radiation. The catch: it was available only privately and came with a price tag of $12,000 - with the cancer surgery on top bringing the total to $23,000.
It was then the decision made on their retirement four years before paid dividends. At the time they were debating whether to continue the health insurance policy they'd had for 25 years.
"It was costing us $600 every month covering us for surgery, specialist treatments and diagnostic services and we were not sure we could justify it," says June. "We decided to keep it - and now are very pleased we did."
After consulting their own doctor, the Bannisters decided to go ahead with the IORT procedure (known as intrabeam) at the Auckland Breast Centre under breast cancer surgeon Dr Erica Whineray Kelly.
June's operation was carried out within a month. The day after treatment June was back home and a week later she was away on a caravan trip with Joe.
"It was my husband's birthday the day I had the procedure," says June. "I almost felt like a phony afterwards because I was so well and I'm not sure we could have had the intrabeam treatment without the insurance. I'm very lucky."
Given the all clear, June now requires only an annual check-up.
Dr Whineray Kelly says one of the advantages of the intrabeam treatment - used in over 300 centres around the world - is patients like June don't have to spend months as a cancer patient. "Psychologically that can be hard to take," she says.
"They have only around a two-week wait for treatment and then just an overnight stay in hospital. In low-risk cases, women don't need to go through lengthy treatment processes, something I feel strongly about."
The Bannisters are among around 30 per cent of New Zealanders - or 1.34 million people - with health insurance. This compares to 56 per cent in Australia.
Up to 280,000 people are also waiting for elective or non-urgent surgery, according to research commissioned by the Health Funds Association of New Zealand. The association's chief executive, Roger Styles, says since a similar study in 2013, waiting times have gone up by 80 days to an average of 304, with virtually all of these in line for public surgery.
The AA, which has more than 1.5 million members, is looking to curb this trend with the recent launch of AA Health. Membership and brand general manager, Dougal Swift, says the AA has been taking care of New Zealanders for 113 years and AA Health is designed to provide additional layers of protection for its members and the public.
AA Health has partnered with nib, the second largest health insurer in New Zealand, to offer three core health insurance products - everyday, private hospital and private hospital and specialist. Swift says private hospital and specialist is the most popular option, with private hospital proving to be an attractive alternative for those wanting to minimise premiums.
"It comes with a range of excess options - up to $10,000 - which enables lower premiums while providing cover for expensive procedures," he says.
AA Health cover can be purchased online at aahealth.co.nz, by calling 0800 758 758, or by visiting an AA Centre. AA members receive a five per cent discount off the cost of any AA Health policy.