Tower launches cover for non-Pharmac funded cancer drugs

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Tower Health & Life has launched a new cover option for non-Pharmac funded cancer drugs which strikes a balance between giving customers the choice to include the cover while ensuring its base product is not vulnerable to sustainability issues.  

Tuesday, August 24th 2010, 12:17PM 1 Comment

It has overhauled its Premier Health trauma add-on option known as Serious Condition Lump Sum Option, introducing a Cancer Assistance Benefit.

This benefit will pay an additional amount of up to twice the sum insured if a non-Pharmac funded chemotherapy drug approved by Medsafe is recommended by the registered specialist for cancer treatment. This payment is over and above the trauma payout.

Tower Health & Life head of products and marketing Grant Hill says  the future cost of non-Pharmac funded cancer drugs is unknown with an ageing population placing greater demand on New Zealand's limited health dollar combined with pharmaceutical companies investing significant capital in trying to develop the next cancer wonder drug.

He says if non-Pharmac funded cancer drugs were covered under a health product's base module there would be a significant risk that it could drive much higher levels of claims' inflation.

"By extending the cover for non-Pharmac funded cancer drugs within the Serious Lump Sum add-on option, we believe we have struck the right balance between giving customers the choice to include this cover while ensuring our base product is not vulnerable to sustainability issues."

Tower has also increased the number of trauma conditions from 17 to 39 and they include Coronary Artery Angioplasty (three vessels or more), Cardiomyopathy, Advanced Dementia, Muscular Dystrophy and Parkinson's Disease.

A Children's Benefit has been introduced which pays out 50% of the sum insured on diagnosis of a defined trauma condition by an insured person's child aged between 3 and 18 regardless of whether the insured person's child is on their health policy and there is also a new Paralysis Assistance Benefit which pays an additional amount equal to the sum insured.

TOWER Health & Life chief executive Steve Boomert says these enhancements are very material and make Premier Health's Serious Condition Lump Sum Option a stand out in the marketplace.

"As health insurers come under increasing pressure to address affordability, we strongly believe that trauma cover will become more important as a logical and complimentary add-on option."

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