New Cancer Drug – a reason for good medical insurance

There is an article on the Herald about a new Breast cancer drug that is getting good results, but is $5000 a month for the pills.

So naturally people would like this to be covered by Pharmac so it can be done for free. This is not that easy, as Pharmac has a specific budget and every issue out there has new drugs people would love to be funded.

Unfortunately there is an unlimited appetite for treatment but not an unlimited budget. Breast cancer has the advantage that everyone wants to do what they can for mums etc, so it gets much more attention than some other maladies with similar risks, but its not unlimited.

Now this drug may end up getting covered by Pharmac, maybe it’s the replacement for Herceptin, Pharmac will go through their usual process of assessing it.

But what if they don’t cover it, or the next super drug, or you have an issue that is not as attractive to protect as Breast cancer?

This is the role of good insurance. We take for granted that the government will fund you and your treatment but there is a ration for everything.

If a drug is not on the Pharmac list, the public system wont use it.

Good medical insurance will provide the treatment, faster than you will get it in the public system, and the best covers, provide cover for Non-Pharmac drugs, so if your specialists recommends a drug not on the Pharmac list, you can still get it.

Combine this with good trauma cover, to provide additional cash for your own treatment, recovery time etc, and some income protection cover to replace your lost income while you are off work on treatment, and you are looking at a good protection plan for you and your family.

Many people shy away from insurance because they only perceive the cost, but, if you found out you were diagnosed with something that needed 5K per month to pay for it, would you care about what premiums you had paid? Or focus more on getting the treatment you need and getting as much money from your insurance as you can?

The insurance market is a minefield, there are a lot of policies out there, not all created equal, so make sure you get advice on this. DUX is here to help, but if you have a good insurance adviser they can help you make sure you have the right cover.