L. J. Devon – Broadening their definition of medicine, the Swiss government is announcing a positive shift toward alternative healing and complementary therapies. For far too long, health insurance has guaranteed a monopoly for a system dominated by synthetic drugs. The Swiss government is breaking out of that confining mold and allowing patients’ health insurance plans to cover five new complementary therapies.
In May 2017, health insurance plans in Switzerland will be covering a variety of healing modalities, including homeopathy, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal medicine and holistic medicine. In this way, Switzerland will be bringing back the many healing arts that were used successfully in the past.
A shift away from the disease management, synthetic drug system
This shift toward integration will allow the Swiss healthcare system to heal, as it moves away from profiting off disease management. With the inclusion of these five eclectic healing modalities, Swiss healthcare will become more affordable. By legitimizing these true healing modalities, healthcare can compete to heal, empowering people instead of leaving them in an expensive cycle of side effects and negative outcomes.