German acupuncture trials

[2] As a result of the GERAC trials, the German Federal Joint Committee ruled in April 2006 that the costs of acupuncture treatment for chronic back pain and knee osteoarthritis would be covered by public health insurers in Germany,[3] though no coverage was offered for headache or migraine.

[4] However, because of the outcome of these trials, in the case of the other conditions, insurance corporations in Germany were not convinced that acupuncture had adequate benefits over usual care or sham treatments.

[9] This resulted in a heated debate, which led to Paul Rheinberger, Director of the Federal Committee of Physicians and Health Insurers, saying: "The higher the quality of clinical studies performed on acupuncture, the lesser the amount of evidence supporting its efficacy.

[12][13] In 2001 the GERAC were set up at Bochum University[12] as a field study on behalf of six German statutory health insurance organizations.

[6] In 2005, the Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift (German Medical Weekly) published an article which criticized the trials for "not meeting scientific criteria".

[4] As a result of the GERAC trials, in April 2006 the German Federal Joint Committee, which sets health care reimbursement policy for Germany, determined that acupuncture for the treatment of low back pain and knee pain would be reimbursed by public health insurance[3] but coverage was not offered for headache or migraine.

[19] However, because of the outcome of these trials, in the case of the other conditions, insurance corporations in Germany were not convinced that acupuncture had adequate benefits over usual care or sham treatments.