German health funds may reimburse PET (positron emission tomography):
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The social court in Leipzig, Germany, has ordered a regional division of the federal guilds' health insurance fund (IKK) to pay for the cost of a positron emission tomography (PET) procedure for a patient suffering from cancer. This is the first time that a statutory health insurance fund has been obliged to reimburse a PET examination, as it is normally considered a procedure for the private sector only. The court also wrote to the combined federal committee, which undertakes health technology assessment, and requested it to reassess it position on the reimbursement of PET and thereby close a loophole in the law.