Optometry, health policy, and more

In 2025, the costs of mandatory health insurance continued to rise. Over 5% in the last quarter. Given the introduction of Tardoc, which has a cost corridor of 4%, this doesn’t look good at all. We’ll be interested to see how politicians plan to get themselves out of this predicament.

By the way, if you’re interested in regular monitoring, you can find out more here!

The fact that strange studies are published time and again or that vague scientific papers are produced is nothing new. What is new is that certain countries want to take action against this, e.g., China.

There is talk of severe penalties, though these have not yet been defined. Apparently, no one has been punished so far, but the state now intends to take a tougher stance.

If this sets a precedent, it could also have a negative impact on independent research. We all know that rejections depend on peer review. I discussed the fact that these reviewers are only human in an earlier editorial.

However, it must be possible to write an unconventional research paper, even if there is a risk that it will be rejected—perhaps simply because it does not fit the journal’s scope. We know from various authors that they had to submit or revise their work several times before it was finally accepted.

There’s a wonderful podcast that’s not just for us, but for anyone who’s curious about how blind people actually manage their daily lives. Two blind women share their stories in a vivid, intimate, and wonderfully human way: imblindpunkt.