Ministry of Health Subsidy for Hair Loss 101
The Subsidy
A Government Subsidy known as The Wigs and Hairpieces service payment is a payment to people who suffer from temporary or permanent hair loss because of a medical condition or from certain cancer therapies. The payments are to subsidise the cost of purchasing and maintaining a Wig or Hairpiece and/or obtaining Headwear such as hats and turbans.
In order to make a claim, patients must:
-
Be a New Zealand citizen or ordinarily a resident in New Zealand
and - have a current medical certificate with their NHI number, details of the hair loss condition and whether it is permanent or temporary from a specialist or general practitioner (GP)
|
Current entitlements |
Entitlement inclusive of GST |
Entitlement period |
|
Adults over 18 years with permanent hair loss |
$2330.67 |
9 years |
|
Adults over 18 years with temporary hair loss |
$408.89 |
1 year |
|
Children under 18 years with temporary or permanent hair loss |
$1226.67 |
3 years |
The Entitlement period is time over which each grant applies from the time of your patients’ first claim. They can claim all or part of their entitlement at any time over the entitlement period.
Medical Certificates
To qualify for a subsidy, patients need to submit a letter signed by a Hospital Specialist, GP or Healthcare Professional in addition to a claim form that they complete and sign.
The medical certificate must include:
- Patient details including NHI and date of birth – a patient label is ideal
- Cause of hair loss – e.g. chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, hormone treatment or a medical condition such as alopecia, trichillotomania, lupus
- And the words “This is a temporary condition” OR “This is a permanent condition” as appropriate.
It needs to be current (dated within the last 6 months) and signed by the Healthcare Professional on Facility Letterhead. The Ministry of Health only accepts original signed certificates; any replicas including emails, faxes, scans or photocopies cannot be submitted.
Examples of Proforma certificates can be found in the Claims Forms tab or if you are a medical practitioner, in the Forms Folder.
Patient Claim Forms
Patients also needs to provide a signed and dated claim form confirming they are the eligible person and have received or will receive the products specified.
If spending the full entitlement with us in one purchase, complete and sign the largely prepopulated form available on this site in the Claims Forms tab or in the email sent upon registration.
For partial use of the subsidy, complete and sign this form https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/pages/wigs-and-hairpiece-claim-form.pdf
More information is also available on the Ministry of Health website: Click here