Lauterbach wants to remove homeopathy as a health insurance benefit
In order to relieve the burden on statutory health insurance companies, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is planning to cancel funding for homeopathic treatments. The products have no proven effect that goes beyond the placebo effect.
bFederal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach wants to abolish the financing of homeopathic treatments by statutory funds. “Homeopathy makes no sense as a health insurance benefit,” wrote the SPD politician on the online platform
Homeopathic medicines can be based on plant, mineral and animal substances. The extremely diluted substances are administered, for example, in the form of small beads (globules). The scientific consensus is that homeopathic treatments have not been proven to have any effect that goes beyond placebo effects.
Services without “demonstrable benefits” should “not be financed from contributions”.
As “Spiegel” reported, Lauterbach’s ministry sent a recommendation paper to other ministers explaining where savings can be made with statutory health insurance. According to the report, it says: “Services that have no medically proven benefit may not be financed from contributions.” And further: “For this reason, we will delete the option for health insurance companies to also provide for homeopathic and anthroposophical services in their statutes and thus avoid unnecessary expenditure by health insurance companies.” However, additional insurance should still be possible.
Lauterbach had already said in October 2022 that he would consider removing homeopathy as a health insurance benefit. “Although homeopathy is not significant in terms of expenditure, it has no place in a science-based health policy,” he told “Spiegel” at the time. According to the magazine, the measure would save a maximum of ten million euros. Lauterbach, however, stated that the deletion would result in savings of 20 to 50 million euros.