Private medical insurers divided over cancer drugs

According to consultant firm Watson Wyatt, private health insurance providers are divided over how the cost of new cancer drugs will affect the National Health Service. The new drugs care causing concerns amongst some private medical insurance providers.

The new cancer therapies promise to be particularly effective against diseases that now affect as many as one in three people. The effect of the new drug could cause inconsistency and uncertainty in the PMI market if it continues to divide the industry.

The news followed a BBC survey in which 180 cancer doctors were asked their opinion about whether the NHS could afford the treatments. The head of healthcare and risk consulting at Watson Wyatt, David Cross, reportedly commented: The BBC’s survey highlights the acute cost implications for private medical insurers due to the licensing and use of new high cost drugs to treat specific types of cancer .