8 June 2017 - The Actuaries Institute and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia are calling for private health insurers to better look after cancer patients by paying customers diagnosed with the disease up to $10,000 to offset financial strain and improve customer satisfaction within the industry.

Men diagnosed with prostate cancer and with private health insurance have median out-of-pocket expenses of $6000, compared to $2000 out-of-pocket expenses for those that use the public health system, said Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia chief executive Anthony Lowe, who is calling for the change with actuary Jamie Reid.

"The problem is multi-faceted, it's not as simple as the Medicare rebate freeze. Some standard MRIs are not reimbursed by insurance and there are treatments that doctors are giving that aren't covered by the public or private systems. There can be travel costs, or loss of income ... the causes are complex, and so what we were looking for was a relatively simple and easy solution to a complex series of problems," said Mr Lowe.

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