Spahn wants to let health insurance companies for genetic testing on Embryos pay

The statutory health insurance funds will in future have to pay the controversial preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for couples who have a predisposition to a serious genetic disease. It was the will of the Federal Minister of health, Jens Spahn, said first of all, the editorial network Germany (RND).

Spahn, has presented an Amendment to the date of service of the law, which is discussed in the Bundestag and the MIRROR. It is not the first foray of the Ministry of health. Recently, Spahn had asked, and liposuction in women with Lipoödem to make to the Fund performance. Critics now fear that in the future, the Ministry of health could arbitrarily decide on the costs of therapies.

Cost up to 20,000 euros

Studies of embryos in Germany are subject to strict legal regulations. Only under special circumstances, an Embryo prior to the planting of all genetically may be examined; with the help of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, in short, PID. Either there must be the risk of serious hereditary diseases or the high probability of a stillbirth or a miscarriage. PID ethics committees to decide whether an investigation is allowed.

So far Affected have to pay the PID itself, which costs, according to RND up to 20,000 Euro. From circles of the Ministry of health said on Tuesday, when the PID was, in certain cases, legally, should not be due to the cost of a “privilege” for the Wealthy.

How many applications for a PID, the five ethics committees in Germany, is not collected centrally. Experts estimate about 300 to 400 cases a year. Much of it comes in front of the Bavarian ethics Committee, because there are many PID centers.

Only for married couples

In the case of the PID in the Embryo are removed after artificial fertilization outside of the Womb cells, to investigate the genome of mutated genes. Embryos with damage to the mother not be planted. Thus stillbirths are to be avoided, such as the birth of a severely sick child. The Bundestag had approved the PID in 2011, after an emotional dispute within narrow limits. Critics saw it as a dam breaking, all the way to “Designer babies”.

With the proposed cost of acquisition of the former Bundestag decision in performance will be traced right to the funds, citing the RND from the application. A prerequisite for the assumption of costs should therefore be that the couples are married. In addition, only Egg should and cells of the two spouses, seeds are used. It was planned that a total of three Attempts will be paid for the Implantation of the studied embryos in the uterus.