HanseMerkur: ‘Krebs-Scan’ has closed a gap and can be a model for future innovations

‘Krebs-Scan’ a success – “Test has closed a gap”

Since last year, the insurance company HanseMerkur has been offering a ‘Krebs-Scan’ based on our PanTum Detect® test, which can detect tumors at a very early stage with a simple blood test. The CEO of HanseMerkur, Eberhard Sautter, sees the offer as a success: “Tumors often lie dormant in the body undetected for years. By the time the first symptoms appear, it is often too late. And for more than half of all tumor types, there is no early detection at all. The test included in our ‘Krebs-Scan’ has therefore closed a gap,” said Sautter in an interview with the newspaper Die Welt on September 3, 2024.

Early medical detection that is as comprehensive as possible not only makes medical sense: “Thanks to new procedures and technologies, I also see enormous potential here for us as a health insurance company to differentiate ourselves from the competition,” emphasized Sautter.

No business with fear – “more innovations than ever before” in the area of prevention

The insurance boss rejected the accusation that HanseMerkur is trying to do quick business with fear: “Health is HanseMerkur‘s core business and remains our largest business segment to this day. That is why it is particularly important for us to offer more than our private and statutory competitors. We see prevention and health information as a particularly important growth area. This is because more innovations are currently being created here than ever before.”

Even more offers in early detection

According to Sautter, HanseMerkur wants to make even more offers for early detection and is concentrating “on cardiovascular diseases and tumors as the most frequent cause of death”. Small and innovative companies often do not have the capacity to launch their innovations in the complex German healthcare market themselves. “And our major competitors often have no interest in doing so either. For us, on the other hand, this is a great opportunity to offer real added value,” says the insurance boss.

Comprehensive information is essential

It is important to provide patients with comprehensive information before the examinations so that they make a conscious and voluntary decision. A product such as a ‘Krebs-Scan’ could be an example of this: “It is not prescribed by the state or a statutory health insurance fund. Instead, people decide completely voluntarily to pay a certain amount each month in order to receive extended preventive care and be better looked after in the event of illness. This can and should be a model for future innovations,” says Eberhard Sautter confidently.

Read the full interview online (available to Welt+ subscribers):

03.09.2024: Business with cancer fears? “We know of no study that disproves our assumptions” (only available in German)