As of: January 22, 2024, 6:00 a.m
By: Theresa Kuchler
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Split
Pellets that divide opinions: The fact that homeopathic remedies such as globules will soon no longer be a cash benefit sparked a controversial debate.
© DPA
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach no longer wants homeopathy to be financed by statutory health insurance companies.
While some doctors find this step “overdue”, alternative practitioners are disappointed.
District
– For Christian Lübbers, it was good news that made the rounds last week.
The Weilheim ENT doctor has been doing educational work against homeopathy for years.
The doctor was happy to hear Karl Lauterbach's (SPD) proposal to soon remove homeopathic treatments from the list of health insurance benefits.
“Science has shown that homeopathy’s effect does not go beyond the placebo effect,” says Lübbers in an interview with our newspaper.
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Lübbers therefore calls the Federal Health Minister’s decision “overdue and important for patients”.
This isn't taking anything away from people, but rather giving them something: “Honesty, trust and reliability are what we expect from health insurance.
On the other hand, upgrading a sham therapy by reimbursing its sham medication is unethical and dangerous.”
“Sugar balls with a touch of nothing”
Lübbers sees almost every day in his practice that globules and other homeopathic medicines often do not even work due to the placebo effect.
“I feel sorry for all the children who are given homeopathic drops for middle ear infections – and the next day they still have pain and a fever of 40 degrees.” Neither the drops nor the “sugar balls with a touch of nothing” are actually effective medications, he emphasizes Weilheim ENT doctor.
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Martin Kayser also sees it that way.
The general practitioner from Schongau also describes Lauterbach’s decision as a “long overdue step”.
Not just because of the money that will be saved – 20 to 50 million euros, according to the Ministry of Health.
For the Schongau doctor, it's more about the fundamentals.
“Homeopathy is not medicine and should be exempt from the pharmacy requirement.”
Do not equate homeopathy with naturopathy
However, both he and his Weilheim colleague emphasize that homeopathy should not be equated with naturopathy.
“Herbal medicine is something completely different and helpful, but unfortunately little research has been done,” says Kayser, who practices naturopathy himself.
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Meanwhile, Anita Kraut says Lauterbach's decision is “a shame.”
The alternative practitioner from Steingaden has been running her own practice for 37 years and has specialized in homeopathy, among other things.
For them it is not a question of whether homeopathy helps people or not.
“This is a healing method that has been around the world for over 200 years.
If it didn’t work, it wouldn’t exist,” says Kraut.
She also points out that animals are also successfully treated homeopathically.
“That shows that a placebo effect is ruled out.”
With additional insurance or as a self-payer
Even if Kraut finds the removal of homeopathy funding regrettable, it doesn't change anything for her patients.
They would have taken out appropriate additional insurance anyway or would be self-payers.
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Marianne Porsche-Rohrer has also had many good experiences with alternative healing methods.
The pharmacist, alternative practitioner and author from Schongau nevertheless classifies the heated debate about homeopathy diplomatically: “From a scientific point of view, Karl Lauterbach may be right when he claims that the way homeopathic medicines work cannot be logically justified,” she says.
“Low costs and no side effects”
From decades of experience in naturopathic practice, Porsche-Rohrer also knows that “if you choose the right remedy and start treatment correctly, the healing results are often astonishing.”
In addition, in her opinion, homeopathic treatments have two major advantages: “low cost and the absence of side effects”.