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A new stand alone insurance policy has been launched by a leading insurer, and offers policyholders a lifetime benefit of fifty thousand pounds towards lifesaving cancer drug treatment for a nominal annual premium.
There has been much controversy over the availability of cancer treatments in the UK over recent years, with the NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) denying approval of many cancer drugs simply because of the cost implications, leaving cancer patients out in the cold when it comes to getting effective treatment.
The new insurance policy, called mycancerdrugs, has been launched by WPA, and the cost of premiums will depend on age. As an example, a woman aged forty would be around £42 per year including tax, and this will provide lifetime protection that offers up to £50,000 towards cancer treatments that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency but have not been authorized in the UK because of the cost of the treatments.
For those under twenty one years of age the premiums are significantly lower, but for smokers the premiums will double because of the heightened risk of contracting cancer.
With so many approved and effective cancer drugs not available via the NHS this form of insurance could provide valuable and even life saving options for consumers that they would otherwise not have. A variety of drugs will be covered by the policy, and these are drugs that are not available through the NHS, giving policyholders privileged access to these treatments.
The Chief Executive of WPA stated: 'Cancer is no longer an inevitable death-sentence. Mycancerdrugs helps fund the cost of advanced drugs where the NHS denies their use. For comprehensive private medical insurance someone in their 40s would have to pay around £800 to £1,000. A lot of people don't have that sort of money available.'
Tom Smith
14.05.07
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