Don't be held to ransom by Pharmac
New Zealand news sites are inundated with stories of those who are diagnosed with cancer and are required to spend thousands upon thousands (if they can) for treatment that isn’t funded by Pharmac.
Pharmac is often painted as the bad guy in many of these situations, and in a lot of cases, it’s easy to see why. However, to avoid being held to ransom by the entity that must make many complex decisions about whether certain treatments should be subsidised, it’s important to know what your options are.
Don’t rely on Pharmac to get the treatment you need, because it’s not always that black and white.
A recent article published on Stuff.co.nz discusses one case where a particular cancer-treating drug is funded, but only for certain types of cancers. To the relief of many, Pharmac has recently started funding cancer-treating drug, Keytruda, but there’s a catch - it’s only funded for lung cancer and melanoma. This is extremely unfortunate for Christine Rubie-Davies, who was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.
Having undergone several procedures, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, Christine’s cancer came back and spread, leaving her with less than a year to live. To help fight it, she decided to go ahead with private healthcare treatment, including immunotherapy and Keytruda.
Unfortunately, because Keytruda is not funded for her particular cancer diagnosis, she had to pay for it out of her own pocket - a cost of over $100,000. It seems ridiculous that such a drug can be funded for one type of cancer and not another, especially one that is the third most common cancer in New Zealand. It’s even more ridiculous that Keytruda is actually funded for advanced breast cancer in eight other countries, but not here.
The only way to get the necessary treatment is to have the right health insurance in place from the start. Granted, this isn’t something everyone can afford, but if you wouldn’t be able to cover a personal cost of $100,000 as in Christine’s case, it might just be your best bet.
Many people grumble over the cost of insurance, but in a situation like this, it can quite literally be your saving grace. If you pay your premiums and don’t end up needing to make a claim, that’s actually a good thing! But if you do, you can rest assured that you will be covered when you need it the most.
Don’t hang your hopes on Pharmac to provide funded treatment if you are diagnosed with an illness. Take matters into your own hands and prepare for your future while you are able. If you’re not sure what cover you need, or if you just want to have a chat to someone about the options available, get in touch with us today.
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