Covering costs in extraordinary circumstances
One of our insurance partners has recently released data from 2023 that highlights just how valuable well-tailored health insurance can be when Kiwis are faced with the unimaginable.
New Zealand is behind many OECD countries when it comes to the availability of certain drugs. From 2011 to 2020 there were 441 modern medications introduced to 20 OECD countries. However, in that time just 30% of these obtained registration in New Zealand (which makes them available for prescription to patients here)
This is prompting some patients to take drastic measures, such as moving overseas or spiralling into debt to afford life-saving medicine – or even foregoing treatment altogether.
Nib, one of our insurance partners, helps Kiwis address this risk factor with their Non-Pharmac Plus Option, which covers the cost of unfunded drugs for New Zealanders.
In 2023, this option helped to provide treatment for 107 people, with 512 claims made for non-Pharmac medicines. The highest amount of funding for a single patient during 2023 was for Cabozantinib Keytruda to the value of over $136,000.
Despite many petitions being handed to parliament (and a great deal of media coverage on the issue), it does not appear that drugs such as Keytruda will be funded anytime soon. This means insurance may be the only option for New Zealanders wanting to safeguard themselves against risk at this time.
Give us a call if you would like to discuss the costs and benefits of this option.
