From the Ministry of Social Development
We’re committed to making sure our clients are supported to stay safe and independent in their own homes. As part of this, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) funds the costs of medical alarm services to its eligible clients through their Disability Allowance. We’ve once again negotiated with medical alarm suppliers to make sure our clients continue getting a quality service at a competitive price.
There has been a small movement in costs for the existing suppliers, with the cost increasing for three of them, staying the same for one and decreasing for another. We’ve also added a new MSD-accredited supplier, Electra ltd (trading as Securely).
The changes to costs start from 19 August 2019. To make sure clients stay safe as these changes take place, there’ll be no interruption to the client’s medical alarm service.
Changes to people’s payments
We’ll automatically adjust people’s payments for anyone with a change in cost. We’re also writing to them about the change and what it means for them. The changes will be small.
The medical alarm suppliers are also writing to their clients to adjust how much they pay for the alarm service. Where MSD pays the supplier directly, we’ll adjust the amount for them.
The MSD-accredited suppliers of medical alarm services are:
ADT Security 0800 111 238
Chubb New Zealand 0800 203 040
Securely 0800 865 865
Freedom Medical Alarms 0800 380 280
Red Wolf High Level Monitoring 0800 673 252
St John Medical Alarms 0800 502 323
There’s more information about medical alarms on the Work and Income website.
Non-accredited suppliers
People who have their medical alarm provided by a non-MSD accredited supplier can still get the cost of the alarm covered by their Disability Allowance. If they choose to change to a different supplier, they’ll need to choose an MSD-accredited supplier.
If you have any questions, please email us at Medical_Alarm_Correspondence@msd.govt.nz