Posted on 01/04/2021
1 min read
Medicines and homeopathic preparations have not been reimbursed by social security since January 1, 2021.
Referring to the overwhelming opinion of the High Authority for Health which concluded at the end of June that homeopathic products were not effective, the Ministry of Health had published on October 4, 2019 two regulatory texts to organize their delisting. The entry into force of these texts having been set for January 1, 2021, homeopathy is no longer reimbursed.
A first decree concerned the removal of homeopathic medicines from the list of reimbursable specialties. Hundreds of specialties, some very well known such as arnica montana, gelsemium sempervirens or nux vomica, are mentioned.
The transparency commission gave an unfavorable opinion to the reimbursement of these drugs because of “the lack of convincing demonstration of efficacy (…) in the conditions / symptoms for which data have been found in the literature“, “the lack of demonstration of efficacy greater than placebo or an active comparator“and the fact that”these homeopathic medicines do not allow, as part of a therapeutic strategy, to reduce the consumption of other medicines“, recalled the government in this decree.
A second decree put an end to health insurance coverage for homeopathic preparations made by pharmacists, “in the absence of demonstrated interest for public health“.
Some homeopathic medicines were hitherto reimbursed by social security without having proven their scientific effectiveness, by virtue of a derogatory statute. Their reimbursement rate, set at 65% in 1984, had already been reduced to 35% in 2003 and then 30% in 2011.
In 2018, homeopathy represented 126.8 million euros out of about 20 billion for all reimbursed drugs, according to health insurance.
From now on not reimbursed by Social Security, homeopathy could possibly be partially covered by mutuals which must position themselves in the year on the issue.
Slide: How are your homeopathic medicines made?