Subsidy eligibility for non-prescription medication expenses and deviation from binding precedent on government employee benefits

The Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) permitted the appeal in the proceedings, ordering a remand for further review because the lower court's judgment deviated from binding precedent. The dispute concerned the eligibility for government employee subsidy benefits (Beihilfe) regarding expenses for non-prescription medications, specifically challenging the lower court's refusal to recognize these costs as eligible for reimbursement. The decisive legal basis is § 132 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (VwGO), which grants permission for appeal when a lower court decision diverges from the established case law of the same senate, here referencing the prior judgment of June 26, 2008, which defined the standards for subsidy eligibility of such medical expenses.