Is Cancer Care Covered?

Private medical insurance normally pays out for treatment for illnesses which are acute - meaning that they can be cured. Chronic conditions are often excluded as they may not be curable, but they can be managed in the long term. Cancer, it seems, can be in either of these classifications, which is what is making it all seem less clear when it comes to what is covered and what's excluded in medical insurance policies.

Some medical insurers are adjusting their terms for cancer cover and many don't offer it for those persons who need palliative care - in other words treatment that is designed to alleviate, but not cure, the symptoms. In fact only three of the major medical insurers cover this type of care. Other insurers will limit cover to treatment that is designed to cure the disease and some of them will limit the cover by cost or duration of treatment.

The changes are coming about as a number of new drugs which could prolong the lives of cancer patients are being developed. These drugs can be extremely expensive and more and more patients are seeking them. Although these drugs are designed to slow the spread of the disease rather than give the hope of a cure, it's only natural that if a patient can live for longer in reasonable health, they're going to expect that treatment.

During the coming years it's fully expected that new treatments and drugs will be flooding in. The fact is that more than 40 drugs are reaching the licensing stage and trials are going on all the time. Insurers are aware that cancer is one of the main reasons why their customers buy health insurance and they have a duty to inform them openly of what treatments are covered.

One of the leading cancer specialists in the UK agrees with this. He stated "there needs to be more transparency from insurers in what they offer. Insurers, and the NHS, do face the problem that the cost of cancer care is going to explode in the next five years." He also stated that he'd had patients who'd suddenly been told that their insurers were not going to fund further treatment. By his intervention, the insurers were persuaded to continue cover.

Herceptin is one of the main drugs considered to be particularly useful and there was a lot of publicity when it was introduced, being hailed as an important advance in cancer treatment. More and more patients won the right to receive this on the NHS and one of the main health insurers has introduced cover using this drug with a limit of a year or whatever the recommended course of treatment is. However, they exclude cover for other treatments which are considered palliative.

Not all cancers are covered - for instance skin cancer which is not at the invasive stage is normally in this category. Neither is cancer the enemy it once was - very many cancers can be successfully treated, but such treatment can be long and tedious, although all that tends to go to the back of your mind after being told you're in the clear.

Private Medical Insurance is good insurance to have; it means that if you do develop an acute illness at least you will be rest assured that the money is there to pay for your treatment! However what if your treatment does not cure your illness, its best to make your Will! Visit Will Call UK. When you click on our site, you will find a vast library of information on Last Will and Testaments, Wills, Free Wills and Wills and Trusts. So click on Will Call UK.