Financing Healthcare for Adults with Cancer in the UK Essay

Financing Healthcare for Adults with Cancer in the UK - Essay Example Developing countries are using more money each year in proving cancer care (Nursing Times, 2011). The increase in the amount of money used is caused by, in addition to more cancer patients, more expensive individualized treatments, and inappropriate cancer products. Drugs for treating cancer are become ever more expensive, as is the technology used to diagnose and treat cancer. According to Kings College London (2011), high-income countries are having a hard time bearing the cost of cancer care, due to unsustainable funding mechanisms. Accordingly, many countries around the globe have come up with several strategies to finance health care for people with cancer. Accordingly, this essay aims to examine the various options for financing healthcare among adults living with cancer in the United Kingdom (UK), while analyzing the implications these financing options have for patients, managers, and practitioners. Statistics, according to Cooksey (2006, pp.45), reveal that a quarter of all deaths within the UK are caused by cancer. Approximately 11,000 people aged between 15-40 years are affected by cancer each year, in the UK (ibid). This means that millions of people in the UK require treatment for cancer, which can be a very costly affair. Prescriptions cost a lot of money, as do special diets, and in some cases; travel costs to hospitals. Accordingly, cancer patients in the UK are presented with a range of options for financing health care. In the UK, cancer patients have the option of having their healthcare financed by the National Health Service (NHS), a government-funded healthcare program that draws its finances from tax revenue. According to Bosanquet & Sikora (2006, pp. 44), the NHS aims to provide healthcare for all people, based on need and not because of their ability to pay. For example, the NHS spent approximately 5.86 billion Euros on cancer care between 2009 and 2010 (Nursing Times, 2011).