In contrast to the recent U.S. trend towards more centralized healthcare, England’s National Health Service (NHS) is about to undergo a revolutionary change in funding that will remove many layers of bureaucracy — and inevitably many jobs, as well — to promote efficiency and more patient-centered care. But one group won’t have to worry about where their next pound is coming from, despite these impending health care cuts: the homeopaths.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley says homeopathic products will still be covered by Britain's National Health Service to preserve patient choice — even though the British Medical Association has called homeopathy "witchcraft."
“This is not unlike the direction the U.S. has taken for our Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Health Department,” posits ACSH's Jeff Stier, who reminds us that “while Congress rejected mandated homeopathy coverage in the new health care reform bill, they did pass a provision requiring the VA Health Department to cover chiropractor visits.”
