Health insurance company may not offer vegetarians extra blood tests

LSG Mainz: deficiency symptoms not common practice
Mainz (jur). Health insurances may offer insured persons with a predominantly vegetarian diet no free additional blood tests. Because deficiencies are not common among vegetarians, judged on Thursday, June 2, 2016, the State Social Court (LSG) Rhineland-Palatinate in Mainz (Az .: L 5 KR 66/15 KL). It rejected thus a planned statute achievement of the BKK advita.

BKK advita has 38,000 insured persons. Under the motto "sustainably healthy", she wants to distinguish herself as a health insurance company with ecological orientation in the box-office competition.

Blood test for vegetarians? Not from the health insurance. Image: Robert Kneschke - fotolia

Insured, who mainly eat vegetarian or vegan, they want to offer additional blood tests to detect a possible deficiency in particular of vitamin B12 early. Vegetarian diet was "not only good for the health, but also for the environment," the health insurance company explained. However, the blood tests could prevent deficiency symptoms and resulting secondary diseases.

In 2013, the BKK passed a corresponding amendment to the statutes. After that, she wanted to pay up to 75 euros a year for blood tests and medical consultation. But the supervisory authority, the Federal Insurance Office, refused. On the other hand, the cash register complained.

The lawsuit was unsuccessful in front of LSG Mainz. In principle, the health insurance companies are likely to offer additional pension benefits. However, the prerequisite is that they are "necessary for all those affected for specific individual reasons". This is not the case here. In vegetarian or vegan diet is "not generally a vitamin B12 deficiency to be feared with this caused diseases," said the Mainz judge to justify. mwo / fle