Health insurance companies should finance cancer advice

Lisa Vogel studied departmental journalism with a focus on medicine and biosciences at Ansbach University and deepened her journalistic knowledge in the master's degree in multimedia information and communication. This was followed by a traineeship in the editorial team. Since September 2020 she has been writing as a freelance journalist for

More posts by Lisa Vogel All content is checked by medical journalists.

Health insurances support cancer counseling: From January 2020 statutory and private health insurances are to help finance counseling for cancer patients.

Better psychotherapeutic care

As part of the reform of the training of psychotherapists, the psychological care of cancer patients is also to be improved. According to the federal government, private and statutory health insurance companies should be obliged to help finance the psychotherapeutic counseling services for cancer patients.

The federal government decided on a corresponding change in the law on September 26, 2019. It should apply from January 2020. The Federal Council still has to approve the change.

Psychological help for cancer patients

"Cancer patients need help that goes beyond physical treatment," says the request for the amendment to the law by the CDU / CSU and SPD parliamentary groups. Outpatient cancer advice centers support patients with everyday challenges and provide orientation in the jungle of applications. They are also an important point of contact for patients and are ready to listen to any concerns after the diagnosis and during treatment. Relatives of cancer patients can also take advantage of the advice.

So far, the offer has been financed by donations and voluntary payments. According to the bill, the funding will now amount to 21 million euros per year. From 2023, the sum should then increase again.

Find counseling offers

Cancer patients seeking help or their relatives can already find local psychotherapeutic advice on the Cancer Information Service website (https://www.krebsinformationsdienst.de).

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