Several private health firms have come under fire after refusing to cover the cost of preventative surgery of women who have the life-threatening BRCA gene. The BRCA gene or "Jolie-Gene" named after Angelina Jolie, who has also undergone a preventative hysterectomy and mastectomy, can determine whether a woman has a high risk of developing cancer.
According to the Daily Mail, at this time, relatives of women with ovarian and breast cancer are offered genetic testing by the National Health Service in the UK. It was also reported that one out of eight women will develop breast cancer while up to 10 percent may be caused by faulty genes.
Though the NHS also offers preventative surgery, which can decrease the risk to five percent, private insurers including Axa PPP Healthcare, Aviva UK Life, Bupa UK and Vitality Health, will only cover the cost of surgery when patients are already experiencing symptoms of tumors.
53-year old Donna Pearce of Essex was found positive of the BRCA2 gene last year after her own sister was found to have breast cancer. Their mother also had breast and ovarian cancer.
Despite the strong family history, however, her healthcare provider, Bupa, told her that they would not pay for the surgery. "It seems cruel and ridiculous that they are effectively saying to me, 'Come back when you have got cancer,'" she told The Telegraph.
Fortunately, she was able to undergo a hysterectomy under the NHS, though she was told to wait for one more year before she can have the mastectomy. The medical director of Bupa UK, Paula Franklin, spoke out about the issue and said that just like other private health insurers in the UK, they "do not pay for screening in people who have no symptoms."
Jolie, wife of Brad Pitt, first had the surgery in 2013, after she was told that she has a huge 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer and 50 percent chance of ovarian cancer. Since then, she has advocated for women to get preventative surgery and continued to raise awareness of breast and ovarian cancer.
