“Top ups” allowed

Last month the Government announced that it would allow people to pay for drugs not available under the NHS without having at the same time to pay for all the other costs of their treatment.

This follows the high profile case of a woman who died after being refused this right. This was featured in the June edition of our Corporate Health Update, where we also drew attention to a new product from WPA designed to meet this need. It is essentially a cash plan, but one of the options offers a £50,000 lifetime benefit for cancer drugs.

Although this product now looks more attractive, it has to be said that it excludes anyone with a pre-existing history of cancer. This is understandable, but less understandable is the provision that also excludes anyone over the age of 60. This will make it difficult for employers who might want to moderate the cost of their PMI plan by excluding cancer cover from their corporate plan to offer the WPA product as a voluntary paid alternative. The price for a company with 500 or more members is £3.15 a month for a non-smoker and this can be recharged through payroll. Bulk purchase by an employer makes a difference as the basic cost to an individual is £4.20 a month.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS OF A GENERAL NATURE ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS ADVICE IN ANY SPECIFIC SITUATION

For further information, please telephone your usual contact at Buck Consultants (Healthcare):

Tel: +44 (0)118 955 7700
Fax: +44 (0)118 955 7701
Email: healthcare@buckconsultants.com
Web: www.buckconsultants.co.uk
Pinnacle, 20 Tudor Road, Reading. Berkshire RG1 1NH

Buck Consultants (Healthcare) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority