Health Insurer Applauds Angelina Jolie’s Decision

Health Insurer Applauds Angelina Jolie’s Decision

May 22, 2013

The decision by Angelina Jolie to go public about her double mastectomy surgery has been applauded by health insurer, Accuro.

Accuro has praised Angelina Jolie for taking a proactive approach to looking after herself and her family and for setting an example to other women to take control of their situation.

The health insurer has covered members faced with the same difficult decisions that have confronted Angelina Jolie.

However General Manager for Sales and Marketing, Kelleigh Aston, confirms it is uncommon for a New Zealand health insurer to pay for what could be termed ‘preventative treatment’ but because Angelina Jolie carried the gene BRCA1, she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer.

“In Accuro’s view this is more than sufficient information to approve the double mastectomy surgery and reconstruction,” Kelleigh Aston, says. “There are enough difficult decisions to be made without having to worry about whether their insurance will cover the costs.”

“Although we do not require our members to have tests we do encourage women, who may be vulnerable, to take the appropriate tests to satisfy themselves about their own health and ensure their wellbeing.”

Because Angelina Jolie’s procedure has become a talking point in newspapers and on radio, Accuro is alerting women that its policies meet the $50-60,000 cost of a double mastectomy surgery and reconstruction.

“Wellbeing is an integral part of our philosophy and it’s far better for women to be proactive and address their health issues than wait until the disease occurs which becomes distressing and sometimes life threatening,” Kelleigh Aston says.

She notes recent publicity in Southland where one woman, scheduled for breast cancer surgery next month, will have waited nine weeks and another, fearing a six week delay, has decided to go private.

“People with health insurance don’t face delays and can have their procedures when they want it and where they want it,” Kelleigh says.

Last week the 37-year-old American actress wrote in The New York Times that she had chosen the surgery because she carries a faulty gene that increases her risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.

Her mother died of cancer at the age of 56.

Accuro Health Insurance’s claim of offering top quality products at the lowest possible premium has been verified by Consumer NZ for the last three years.

ENDS

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