Financing the War on Cancer

31 Pages Posted: 18 Jun 2018 Last revised: 5 Feb 2023

See all articles by Ralph S. J. Koijen

Ralph S. J. Koijen

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh

Columbia University Graduate School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); ABFER

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 2018

Abstract

We estimate the potential gains of life-extending treatments to life insurance companies and apply it to immunotherapy. These treatments promise to dramatically raise durable survival rates for a growing number of cancer patients but are often prohibitively expensive for patients and governments alike. Our main insight is that life insurance companies have a direct benefit from such treatments as they lower the insurer’s liabilities by pushing the death benefit further into the future and raise future premium income. Using detailed survival data from clinical studies, we quantify the insurers’ benefit from immunotherapy for melanoma patients. Extrapolating to 17 other cancer sites, we estimate the insurance sector’s benefit to equal $6.8 billion a year. We discuss various financing mechanisms that exploit this value creation, which depend on the relative bargaining power of insurers and consumers. Moreover, the potential gains for life insurers, which could only accrue if health insurers cover the cost of the treatments and households finance the out-of-pocket expenditure, may warrant some exploration of new boundaries between life and health insurance. We discuss the broader implications for medical innovation and long-term care insurance markets.

Suggested Citation

Koijen, Ralph S. J. and Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn, Financing the War on Cancer (June 2018). NBER Working Paper No. w24730, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3198044

Ralph S. J. Koijen (Contact Author)

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Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh

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