Bupa is the first major private medical insurer to offer preventive care to all customers before any symptoms appear.

New ‘Prevention Pathways’ for breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes will guide Bupa customers based on a clinical assessment including genetic risk and offer access to diagnosis, expert support and potentially life-saving surgeries, with over 200,000 Bupa customers expected to benefit by the end of 2027.

Proactively addressing serious conditions which often have a genetic or family history can help prevent them before symptoms appear, providing greater clarity and reassurance whilst helping people to live longer and healthier lives.

This latest step in Bupa’s genomic health programme signifies a fundamental shift in the delivery of healthcare, moving from treating illness to delivering personalised and prevention‑focused care that is guided by individuals’ health risk factors including genetics.

The Prevention Pathways have been designed based on findings from Bupa’s genomics pilot study of over 12,000 customers, and the unique offering will mean people have fast access to Bupa’s wide network of specialised clinics, hospitals and digital services.

Customers benefit from a connected end-to-end care experience with Bupa, from initial DNA testing and genetic counselling through to GP appointments, lifestyle advice, risk reducing surgeries and aftercare, which enables better health outcomes.  This is all underpinned by Bupa’s new AI-powered Blua digital healthcare service which combines advance models and health insights to help customers understand their health risks, take action and achieve their health goals.

For example, the Prevention Pathway for Breast Cancer will use digital triage and genetic testing to identify customers at elevated genetic risk of breast cancer. They can then be offered personalised treatment options including access to preventive medications such as Tamoxifen, or risk-reducing surgery such as a mastectomy. This pathway alone is estimated to support over 36,000 Bupa customers by end of the 2027.

And for those at high risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes, those pathways will include funding to access Bupa’s Weight Management service.

Dan Sullivan, Product and Proposition Director for Bupa Insurance, said: “Today marks a significant milestone as Bupa becomes the first major private medical insurer to offer fully integrated, genomics-led personalised and preventive healthcare as part of its standard cover. By moving from treating illness, to predicting and preventing it, we are redefining the role of healthcare. 

“Early intervention leads to better outcomes, so being able to prevent illness before reaching crisis stage is key. This shift allows us to provide personal treatment plans for everyone and support our customers better than ever before.”

Bupa is also integrating Bupa Medication Check for all UK customers taking regular medication, directing potentially 4.2m customers onto the right medication for their genetic profile for the first time. This personalised product uses a simple saliva test to determine which medications are most likely to be effective or cause side effects, helping people to get the right medication, at the right dose, first time.

This is a shift from the “trial and error” approach to prescribing medication, particularly for chronic conditions, improving long-term patient outcomes.

Dr Rebecca Rohrer, Clinical Innovation and Genomics Director for Bupa, said: “This is a turning point in how we think about healthcare, enabling people to be more proactive in preventing or delaying ill-health and having faster access to medication that works for them. Genomics truly is at the frontier of healthcare, and by harnessing the learnings from our pilot study of over 12,000 customers we’re uniquely placed to offer personalised care to each individual customer, for the best personalised health outcome.”

The Medication Check pathway will be available to Bupa UK Insurance customers from 1 June. The breast cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease pathways will be available to Bupa UK Insurance customers from 1 September.