When we sit down with clients to discuss personal insurance it is common for those sitting opposite to ask a simple question “how much insurance do we need?”.
While the answer is often more nuanced, it is worth delving in to a report from Zurich on the costs to patients of 30 major medical conditions.
The report has found those who develop some diseases, including Parkinson’s and some types of cancer, face a massive financial burden and up to $190,000 in out-of-pocket costs (OOP) over their lifetime, even if they are privately insured.
Parkinson’s is a degenerative neurological condition that affects memory, thinking, mood and movement, with more than 150,000 Australians currently Living with the disease.
The high OOP costs for Parkinson’s was attributed primarily to treatments and mobility aids, as well as formal care, accommodation, travel, and modifications to homes or vehicles. The prevalence of the disease is increasing at one of the fastest paces among neurogenerative diseases, having doubled over the past 25 years, according to the World Health Organisation.
The report comes after Australia joined the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program, spearheaded by the Michael J Fox Foundation, to map the genes that cause Parkinson’s. Victims are also likely to develop dementia, a brain condition that impacts memory, speech, thinking and behaviour.
Dementia is now the second leading cause of death in Australia, with the condition costing an average of $54,745 in the first year of diagnosis, and a further $16,990 each ear after that.
The report also documents an explosion in cancer cases driven by prostate cancer (up 44 per cent since 2018); breast cancer (up 14 per cent); and melanoma (up 27 per cent in the same time period).
However, survival rates for cancer on average are improving. Many patients face out of pocket costs for cancer treatment, especially in the case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Nearly one in six Non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients reported paying between $10,000 and more than $100,000 in OOP costs, while head, neck and thyroid cancers reported $109,300 in lifetime costs, and kidney cancers $72,390. Motor Neurone Disease also clocked high expenses, with the average lifetime cost sitting at $201,340.
As you can see, there is a significant financial burden associated with the treatment of certain medical conditions in Australia and as medical advances help to treat these diseases and decrease the mortality associated with them, the cost increases.
The impact of this financial burden was further highlighted by findings that 52% of adults reported underusing asthma treatments in children due to the cost.
More than 30 per cent of families with a child under the age of 15 with cancer said they relied on credit cards and loans, while 16 per cent had to sell possessions to cover basic costs such as phone or power bills. If that wasn’t bad enough, one in six families with a young child with cancer – and close to one in four single parents – went without meals due to financial pressures.
It is worth considering the impact of your children’s ill-health on your financial situation and not just your own.
When it comes to cancer the most common form among Australian women is breast cancer, with average OOP costs totalling $5,500, while the average lifetime cost is similar to prostate cancer at $41,260. However, OOP costs varied for breast cancer patients with private health insurance ranging from the hundreds to more than $18,000.
Further financial hardship was felt by some cancer patients due to enforced employment changes as a result of their condition, while people who underwent surgery or chemotherapy under the age of 60 were more likely to report out-of pocket costs compared to their older counterparts.
So as you can see, there is no one magical figure that would see you covered. Furthermore, it is different for every person and every situation.
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