When it comes to the cure of cancer, the medical field has witnessed some superb advancements over the past 20 years. As the number of cancer cases rose, so did the cancer survival rates. The key reason for this is the medical advancements including the bone marrow transplant which is implemented to combat specific kinds of cancer.
What is bone marrow transplant cover on your health insurance?
Bone marrow
It would be useful to look at what exactly bone marrow is prior to looking into bone marrow transplant. As you may remember from your biology lessons in school, bones are hollow. A soft, spongy tissue filling the hollow spaces in our bones is the bone marrow.
The marrow isn’t there simply to fill the hollow space in our bones, however. In fact, it plays a key role in keeping us healthy as the bone marrow contains what are called stem cells, which are used to create the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Besides, a key part of our immune (lymphatic) system.
Bone marrow transplant
If your doctor finds that your bone marrow is not functioning as it should be, they will usually order a bone marrow transplant. You actually need a supply of stem cells in order to be able to enable the transplant to take place. Moreover, the donor needs to be an incredibly close genetic match if the transplant is to be successful. In many cases, the donor will usually be a close family member such as biological sister, brother, or parents, but sometimes a match can’t be discovered. If this is the case, then doctors will turn to volunteer donors. These donors are usually tracked via a database or donor program that almost any person can join.
Bone marrow transplant cover on your health insurance
The cost of a transplant can be extremely high, especially for expats who may require an overseas transfer as their donor may not be in the country they are residing in. One important thing to consider here is that, unlike other diseases, bone marrow transfers are usually only a small part of a larger overall treatment, which will require many inpatient and outpatient visits.
Regarding this, many local insurance policies likely won’t have limits high enough to cover the whole treatment. While residents of the country probably have access to universal health insurance to offset costs of treatment, expats don’t have access to this. If you have a plan that offers health insurance coverage only in the country, then it is highly likely that treatment will see you quickly reaching coverage limits leaving you to pay out of pocket. Therefore, it is recommended to go with an international health insurance plan. These plans tend to offer much higher coverage limits, which means you will be better covered should you need a bone marrow transplant.
How does bone marrow transplant benefit work?
It is important to point out here, however, that almost all health insurance plans will only cover the cost of the actual treatment/transplant. They will not cover the cost associated with finding a donor, which can be a costly endeavor.
Our Advice
International life insurance providers make changes to their policies usually on an annual or bi-annual basis. Sometimes these changes will mean adding or removing benefits or benefit limits the terms and conditions. When your life insurance provider makes a change, check to see how it affects you as it relates to your needs because it may require a switch to another policy.
Every medical insurance company works differently with bone marrow transplant cover on health insurance. Not all provide bone marrow transplant cover in their own way. It may therefore make sense to shop around to see if you can get a better deal. Benchmarking your cover on an annual basis can reap rewards and will lead you to fulfil your specific medical requirements and the needs of your loved ones.