Kasse has to fund pain patients cannabis

Verdict: pain patient is entitled to therapy with cannabis drops
The State Social Court of Lower Saxony-Bremen in Celle decided in an urgent procedure that patients with the most severe chronic pain in individual cases are entitled to treatment with cannabis. The cost of this therapy must carry the health insurance, so the judgment of the court.

The 4th Senate of the State Social Court in Celle decided on 22 September that health insurance companies have to pay the patients with the most severe chronic pain a therapy with cannabis. Thus, the court changed the decision of the Social Court Oldenburg of 26 June 2015. In addition, the affected health insurance must refund three quarters of the necessary extrajudicial costs of the patient.

Health insurance companies have to shoulder the costs of cannabis therapy for pain patients. (Image: olyas8 / fotolia.com)

Therapies ineffective: Patient suffers from severe pain for 33 years
The plaintiff suffers from the rheumatic disease "Ankylosing spondylitis". The Landessozialgericht Niedersachsen-Bremen saw it as proven that the disease is accompanied by extreme pain. These are so strong that they can be equated with those of a life-threatening or fatal disease. The patient had been suffering from severe chronic pain since 1982. Normal treatments and therapies did not help the 54 year old man. Through the so-called "conventional medicine" succeeded over the years not to help the patient and to free him from his pain. Now the court decided in the urgent procedure that the affected health insurance company has to pay for treatment with cannabis extract drops for pain relief. The costs must be provisionally assumed until the main proceedings have been completed. Should the health insurance company win this, a recovery of the money paid could be demanded.

What is Morbus Bechterew?
Bechterew's disease, according to the German Association for Ankylosing Spondylitis, is an inflammatory disease and primarily affects the spine. For doctors, the problem is also known as "ankylosing spondylitis". Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic rheumatic disease. This can lead to a bony stiffening of the spine due to inflammatory processes. It is also possible that the disease affects the remaining joints or other organs of the body. The disease is considered incurable, but can be significantly influenced by a proper treatment.

Social Code: Life-threatening sufferers have special rights
The patient had applied to the Federal Opium Office for an exemption. With this he then thought to acquire the cannabis drops. But since cannabis is not a recognized treatment for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis, the responsible health insurance company did not want to pay the costs. Since 2012, however, it has been stated in the current version of the Social Code that life-threatening patients can also demand treatment if they have not been approved for the illness of the person concerned. However, it is important that such medications relieve pain in patients or promote healing. (As)