Health insurances
Pregnancy care, freezing eggs: 4 things that the health insurance fund will now take care of
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From July 1st, the statutory health insurances will cover more treatments and therapies. Expectant mothers and cancer patients, among others, benefit from this.
1) Rhesus factor examination during pregnancy
During pregnancy, blood group or rhesus intolerance can occur if the blood group or the rhesus factor of mother and child do not match. If a rhesus-negative woman is expecting a rhesus-positive child, this can have life-threatening consequences for the baby.
From July 1st, pregnant women with a rhesus-negative blood group can have their child’s rhesus factor determined during pregnancy at the expense of the health insurance fund. This avoids prophylactic treatment with anti-D immunoglobulins.
2) Preservation of sperm and egg cells in cancer patients: inside
Cancer patients: Cancer therapy can render them sterile. So that they can still have children later, the health insurance company now pays for measures to freeze and store egg cells or sperm. This “cryopreservation” is now available to all legally insured persons prior to potentially germ cell damaging therapy.
Women up to the age of 40 are entitled to reimbursement of costs, men up to the age of 50. However, there is no retroactive claim, according to the cancer information service. However, for patients who started “cryopreservation” before July 1st, the health insurance fund will at least cover the additional costs from July 1st.
3) Access to long-term physical and occupational therapy
The scope of services for physical, speech and occupational therapy measures will also be increased for many patients from July 1st. According to the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv), long-term treatment for more diseases is now possible. New additions are Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disease of the peripheral nervous system, vitreous bone disease and severe burns and chemical burns. For these and four other newly added diagnoses, the corresponding ordinances can be issued repeatedly for twelve weeks each. The maximum number of occupational therapy units per prescription for certain diagnoses has also changed: from a maximum of 10 to 20.
4) More extensive therapy for periodontal disease
Patients with severe periodontitis receive a wide range of therapies. From now on, those affected will receive systematic treatment with structured follow-up care. You can have the success of the treatment checked more frequently, and “speaking dentistry” also finds its way into periodontitis therapy for the first time: Patients are instructed in better oral hygiene and thus more actively involved in the therapy.