Paris (AFP)
Two unions of liberal doctors asked Monday "the maintenance of the reimbursement" of homeopathy, suspended a decision of the High Authority of Health (HAS) expected this week, which they "fear a + judgment + dependent".
The hour of truth is approaching: the HAS will decide on Wednesday, then make its public announcement Friday, epilogue of a long controversy launched in March 2018 by the tribune vitriol of 124 doctors against homeopathy and other "alternative medicine".
A "hate polemic, fueled on social networks by some of which doctors (...) to spread untruths and cause anxiety in patients," denounce in a statement the Union of Free Doctors (SML) and the National Union of French Homeopathic Doctors (SNMFH).
These two organizations ensure that homeopathy "is not a substitute for other therapies", but "is a complement to conventional therapies" and "represents a real alternative in certain situations".
They also claim that "a brutal derogation" of homeopathy "may not only penalize the most modest patients but also lead to a shift in consumption towards heavier drugs with iatrogenic risks (medical, higher) ".
The two unions also deplore that the HAS "has not integrated experts with a real knowledge of homeopathy" and add that they "dread a + judgment + dependent".
Controversial within the medical profession, homeopathy consists in administering to the patient substances in infinitesimal quantity, diluted to the extreme in water.
Some drugs are reimbursed 30% by Social Security under a waiver regime, their effectiveness has not been evaluated scientifically so far.
Last year, the reimbursement of homeopathy accounted for 126.8 million euros out of a total of about 20 billion for all drugs reimbursed, according to the Health Insurance.
? 2019 AFP