Man wants hair, but state doesn't need 'toupee'

July 2005

Bald men in Germany have no entitlement to state support for toupees, a court ruled Wednesday.

Throwing out a legal challenge by a bald 46-year-old man, the court said the state was not discriminating against men even though health insurance covers the cost of wigs for women.

"In contrast to women, the involuntary loss of hair among men is common and accepted as nothing out of the ordinary," the court ruled, rejecting the suit from the man who said he suffered because of his baldness.

He filed the suit when the state health insurance system refused his claim for a 440 euro ($530) toupee.

"The state health insurance only has to pay for hair replacement when a bald head disfigures a person so severely that they would be ostracized from public life," the court added. "That is not the case with men."