Sourced from Stuff.co.nz on Wednesday, 30 July 2008

While Government drug-buying agency Pharmac has yet to decide whether it will fund 12-month courses of the breast cancer drug Herceptin some women may be covered by insurance.

ING said today it had accepted its first claim for Herceptin from a self-employed woman, aged in her 50s, based in Auckland with no history of breast cancer in her family.

ING said it was the only insurance company in New Zealand that included cover of "non-Pharmac funded, but Medsafe approved, treatments as a standard part of its major medical cover".

In July 2006 Pharmac decided to back just the nine-week course of the drug, used to combat the aggressive HER2 positive form of breast cancer, at an estimated cost to District Health Boards of about $6 million a year.

Eight breast cancer patients, labelled the "Herceptin Heroines", took Pharmac to court to challenge the decision.

The High Court found insufficient consultation had been done in regard to the possible benefits of the longer course and instructed Pharmac to start over again.

Pharmac sought public reaction and received over 300 responses before submissions closed on June 9.

The board is meeting today but was not expected to make any announcement before next week at the earliest.

ING Life managing director Naomi Ballantyne said a 12-month course of Herceptin can cost over $70,000.

"Although much of the treatment regime for breast cancer will be covered under the public system, health insurance is there to fund the gap between what the public system can provide and what is available privately. For ING, this means providing funding and access to a full year's course of Herceptin and access to instant, private medical care."

Ms Ballantyne said there were "thousands" of other Medsafe approved treatments that were not funded by Pharmac.

"In many cases this lack of funding results in these treatments being available only to those who can afford them.

"I believe people should have insurance cover for those events they can't plan for and that will place a major drain on a person's financial resource."