[Opinion] Debate on funding cancer drugs good time to spread the word on health insurance

The Government has been in the news a lot since Budget over funding certain cancer drugs not currently publicly funded by Pharmac.  Even if Government does eventually fund these 13 cancer drugs, there is always something else not funded. 

Surely all this airtime and attention, given to what is a patently dreadful situation for anyone to find themselves or their loved ones in, means now is a good time for advisers to spread the message that private health insurance may be the answer for many?

Surely now is an opportune time to help clients and prospective clients, buy-into the value of private health insurance, to buy-into the mindset that they can, and should, stop relying on someone else to dictate what treatment they can and cannot get, and to buy-into taking control over their health care needs themselves?

The issue of unfunded drugs has been around for decades, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Even if those 13 cancer drugs are eventually funded, there will always be newer and better ones not, or not yet, funded.