Homeopathic suicide?

I agree to a large extent with Luc Bonneux ("Belgium Skeptics Commit Mass Suicide," May/June 2004) and recognize that the reported explanations of Belgian health-insurance companies for their decision to cover part of the costs for homeopathy are less than satisfactory. However, there is a plausible explanation: A patient merely in need of seeing a doctor and receiving a (any!) prescription [s obviously better served by homeopathy. And cheaper served. Whether these positive effects outweigh the negative effect of "offering a quality label to quackery" (and everything that entails) is up to debate. While we can expect insurance companies to know a little bit about economy, it is very optimistic to assume they'd always explain the precise reasoning behind their decisions to the public.

Lennart Meier

Zurich, Switzerland

Forgive me if I'm not the first to suggest the following: Homeopathy doesn't need a molecule of evidence in its favor because, to be consistent, homeopathy should claim that the complete lack of evidence for it is somehow effective and sufficient anyway.

Paul Rinzler

San Luis Obispo, California

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