As cancer claims rise, are multinationals in a unique position to intervene?
Diagnoses, claims and costs are going up. But there’s reason for hope
The proprietary data we collect shows an alarming trend – cancer rates are on the rise. This standardised anonymised data drawn from millions of multinational employees around the world indicates that not only are we seeing more cancer claims than five years ago, but paid claims costs are rising and the average age of diagnosis of cancer is becoming significantly younger. While this is rightly a cause for concern for multinationals, they’re in a unique position to intervene.
Today, we have a greater chance of detecting and surviving many types of cancer than previous generations could ever have dreamed of thanks to advances in medicine and technology. Yet, despite the breadth of knowledge and skills available to us today, access to cancer prevention and care resources remain vastly unequal. Adding to the strain, cancer rates are only growing – and we can see the gathering pace of claims in our global medical claims data.
For multinationals, this makes balancing global employee benefits (EB) programmes that meet their people’s needs with controlling spending especially challenging. The factors driving this trend are complex and won’t be solved overnight. But today, multinationals – like you – are in a position to leverage this data and take action that can help employees detect cancer earlier and offer potentially life-saving treatment – and protect your bottom line, too. The first step is understanding the scale of the cancer claims increase.
Cancer claims are rising globally
Cancer diagnoses are increasing, and global health authorities predict that this is only going to get worse. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global cancer incidence is predicted to increase by 77% between 2022 and 2050, causing deaths to nearly double.1
And this isn’t just a problem impacting older people as populations age. The number of under-50s worldwide diagnosed with cancer has already risen by nearly 80% in the past three decades, with cancer deaths among under-40s also growing by 27%.2
These trends aren’t just predictions or projections from public health bodies. Our proprietary claims data backs up these alarming trends.
The data shows the impact we are seeing on cancer claims among global employee populations – both in terms of incidence and paid claims.
Top cancer claims trends in MAXIS data
Our global data is drawn from standardised, anonymised data from millions of claimants around the world. In this, we found some alarming trends.
Cancer claims numbers are rising
In 2017, claims related to neoplasms were the sixth leading disease cost driver globally. In 2022, neoplasms rose to fourth in the same data and climbed again to third in 2023, ahead of respiratory diseases. Now, only musculoskeletal conditions (MSK) and digestive system diseases have higher paid claims numbers than neoplasms.
Cancer is now impacting a younger employee population
In 2017, 22% of total paid claims for cancers was for claimants aged 31-40. In 2023, this rose to 26.2% for the same age group. Not only has paid amount increased for this younger group, but the average age of cancer claimants in our data in 2023 was 39.
The rise in cancer-related costs has been substantial
There was a 98% increase in paid claims in 2020 compared to the 2017-2019 period. In 2021, paid claims were 165% higher than 2017-2019, and 242% in 2023. Our data also shows neoplasm incidence rates have also grown significantly
Barriers to tackling rising cancer rates
Multinationals are in a unique position to be able to address the increase in cancer cases and claims. But before we explain how, let’s explore the contrast between cancer care best practise and the obstacles holding back progress.
The gold standard
Early detection: identifies cancer at its most treatable stage, when it is most likely to be treated successfully.5 Early intervention can lower long-term costs related to advanced cancer treatment and palliative care, while also saving lives. |
Decreased healthcare burden: early intervention can reduce the long-term costs associated with advance cancer treatment and palliative care. |
Reality
Limited prioritisation: many private and public carriers still do not prioritise early detection as a core focus. |
Awareness gaps: there is often a lack of awareness and education about the importance of preventative measures and screening programmes. |
These factors and more are just some of the pieces of the puzzle. But they also represent opportunities for multinationals to take action.
Six steps to tackling the cancer surge
Why are multinationals in a unique position to control cancer claims and costs? Because you can leverage your global scale… here’s six ideas how.
1. Data: you have a vast employee base from which you can gain powerful insights into your workforce’s demographics. Knowing who your people are in every market, and what risks they face, helps you build a picture of which diseases and conditions your EB programme needs to address now and into the future.
2. Screening: in most cases, the earlier you catch cancer, the better a patient’s chance at survival. From an insurance perspective, early intervention means costs per patient are generally lower. And access to quality care early empowers employees to return to work when they are in good health again – benefiting them and their employer. Multinationals can target screening for certain cancers based on their data, too. For instance, industries with higher proportions of senior men could help their people protect themselves by ensuring they’re educated on the symptoms and have access to prostate screening services.
3. Communications: once you understand your employees’ risk factors, you are in the perfect position to offer support with their personal health by providing screening, lifestyle change tools and disease prevention education. Do your people know what kinds of medical benefits are available to them? You can use your workforce’s data to tailor your communications and ensure the right information is being relayed to your people in different markets and responding to their differing personal risk factors.
4. Technology: millions of people worldwide track their health via smartphones and smartwatches. Employers are well-positioned to tap into this trend by adding digital wellness solutions to your EB offering. Today, multinational employee populations can access wellness apps that provide everything from healthy lifestyle education to medical, physiotherapy or mental health virtual clinics, as well as chronic disease and reproductive health support services. These solutions can cross borders to fill gaps in local healthcare offerings and could really make a difference for your people.
5. Innovation: is there anything that could be limiting your people's access to the latest cutting-edge cancer prevention and treatment options? Clinicians today are exploring new innovations ranging from AI technology to new generation immunotherapies such as CAR-T.
6. Captive solutions: the most centralised multinationals can respond to the challenging array of conditions in every market they work in by looking at how they finance their EB programmes. Multinationals writing their EB risks into a captive can gain even greater control by tailoring their programmes to meet the needs of their people and provide screening or other treatments that would otherwise not be available to them. If not using a captive for EB, multinationals can still work closely with their local insurance providers to see if certain screening tools or treatments can be covered locally.
Expert insights
Frank Ahedo, CEO at Further Group, says: "The key challenge for multinationals is contending with unequal access to healthcare and gaps in care across the countries their employees work in.
"When it comes to cancer, gaps in any kind of service can become a life-threatening problem. But multinationals, committed to ensuring that their employees have equitable access to care almost anywhere in the world, do have options.
"We live in a world where the best and brightest minds are working on cancer innovation, and we believe everyone should be able to access it. You have the power to ensure your employees don’t have to be constrained by borders when it comes to something as important as their health."
Dr Leena Johns, Chief Health & Wellness Officer at MAXIS GBN, says: "Multinationals need to recognise the growing global cancer crisis, its impact on their workforce and the associated rise in medical costs. While this challenge may seem overwhelming, multinationals have a reason to remain optimistic.
"Prevention and early detection are central to effective cancer care, and multinationals are uniquely equipped to evaluate their workforce's risk and take proactive, preventative steps.
“In the coming year, we will guide you in shifting your focus towards cancer prevention and quality care, helping you to better protect your employees and manage your costs."
Given the scale of the rising claims and the importance of this topic for multinationals, we’re going to be looking in-depth at this issue over the coming months, with the aim to alert employers to the scale of this crisis and to share our Health & Wellness team’s expert insights into how you can respond.
Our goal is to help you harness your data and explore EB solutions that draw on today’s innovations so you can close gaps in cancer prevention, care and access for your people, while controlling your costs.
Are you interested in learning more about MAXIS cancer claims data and insights? Click the button below to get more information.
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[1] Anon. World Health Organization (February 1, 2024) Global cancer burden growing, amidst mounting need for services https://www.who.int/news/item/01-02-2024-global-cancer-burden-growing--amidst-mounting-need-for-services (Sourced: August 2024)
[2] Zhao, J and Xu, L., et al. British Medical Journal: Oncology (September 5, 2023) Global trends in incidence, death, burden and risk factors of early-onset cancer from 1990 to 2019https://bmjoncology.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000049 (Sourced: August 2024)
[3] Anon. Malignant neoplasm. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22319-malignant-neoplasm (Sourced: August 2024)
[4] MAXIS GBN proprietary data (2024).
[5] Anon. Cancer Research UK. Why is early diagnosis important? https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-symptoms/why-is-early-diagnosis-important (Sourced: August 2024)
[6] MAXIS GBN may receive fees, commissions and/or other remuneration from third parties in connection with the services we carry out for you.
This document has been prepared by MAXIS GBN S.A.S and is for informational purposes only – it does not constitute advice. MAXIS GBN S.A.S has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this document has been obtained from reliable sources but cannot guarantee accuracy or completeness. The information contained in this document may be subject to change at any time without notice. Any reliance you place on this information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
The MAXIS Global Benefits Network (“Network”) is a network of locally licensed MAXIS member insurance companies (“Members”) founded by AXA France Vie, Paris, France (“AXA”) and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY (“MLIC”). MAXIS GBN S.A.S, a Private Limited Company with a share capital of €4,650,000, registered with ORIAS under number 16000513, and with its registered office at 313, Terrasses de l’Arche – 92727 Nanterre Cedex, France, is an insurance and reinsurance intermediary that promotes the Network. MAXIS GBN S.A.S is jointly owned by affiliates of AXA and MLIC and does not issue policies or provide insurance; such activities are carried out by the Members. MAXIS GBN S.A.S operates in the UK through its UK establishment with its registered address at 1st Floor, The Monument Building, 11 Monument Street, London EC3R 8AF, Establishment Number BR018216 and in other European countries on a services basis. MAXIS GBN S.A.S operates in the U.S. through MAXIS Insurance Brokerage Services, Inc., with its registered office located in New York, USA, a New York licensed insurance broker. MLIC is the only Member licensed to transact insurance business in New York. The other Members are not licensed or authorised to do business in New York and the policies and contracts they issue have not been approved by the New York Superintendent of Financial Services, are not protected by the New York state guaranty fund, and are not subject to all of the laws of New York. MAR01453/0924
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