Germany: IPE Institute for Policy Evaluation says restricting cannabis telemedicine access could cost 2.9 Billion Euros

2025-12-01 | The planned restriction of telemedical prescription and mail-order sales of medicinal cannabis could lead to annual costs of around 2.9 billion euros for the Statutory Health Insurance (GKV), according to an analysis by the IPE Institute for Policy Evaluation. Philipp Mauch, CEO of Werter and Co-Founder of PIVOT, raised the question on LinkedIn in this context of where self-pay patients would switch to if low-threshold access were factually suppressed. The government’s assumption that the draft law is cost-neutral is considered questionable, as according to the IPE analysis, significant savings for the GKV are currently at stake. The analysis shows that the GKV currently benefits from savings of up to 2.9 billion euros per year, which are jeopardized by the planned changes. This sum is composed of three main effects: A price effect of 1.5 billion euros would arise from the elimination of favorable mail-order offers, forcing the GKV to pay higher reimbursement rates. A cost shift of 1.3 billion euros is threatened, as previous self-pay patients would switch to the GKV. In addition, there would be additional doctor costs of around 23 million euros annually due to an estimated 650,000 additional consultations resulting from the obligation for personal doctor contact.