New Therapies for Advanced Cancers: Can Our Society Afford Them? Is it Ethical to Deny Patients Access to Them?, co-authored by Dr Anthony Lowe and Sophie Dyson, was presented at the Actuaries Summit in May 2013. An article based on the paper was published in the June 2013 edition of Actuaries magazine.

The paper outlines the actuarial methodology used by health economists to determine the cost effectiveness of health technologies. It examines the decision making process for listing of new therapies on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Using examples from Australia and overseas it highlights the affordability and ethical issues surrounding expensive new therapies for advanced cancers. The paper explains the role actuaries can play in the public debate on responses to Australia’s ageing population.