No Insurance Coverage for Medical Marijuana.

Burnadett Preaster, after 50 years of chronic back pain, discovered medical marijuana which she believes made her pain more manageable. Now, she believes it is time for health insurers to include medical marijuana in their coverage. She says that cannabis is helping her get her life back.

Preaster sought out Dr. Ben Caplan to prescribe her medical marijuana nine years ago, and she has been taking it ever since. Caplan is worried, however, about the introduction of recreational cannabis in the state’s dispensaries, which has led to patients confusing legitimate health problems with recreational drug use.

The former CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield, Bill Van Faasen, believes that a “tsunami of consumer demand” is coming, which will force health care providers and health insurers to respond to the interest of their customers soon. He thinks that medical marijuana is a more effective, safer, and more affordable solution than the approved synthetic therapies that are currently available.

Medical Costs of Marijuana

Preaster, who has been prescribed opioids to manage her pain, says that the side effects and the risk of addiction were turn-offs. She found better results in her regimen of medical cannabis, which is also less costly compared to opioids, but her health insurer still covers the more expensive drug, not the less costly one. The scheduling of cannabis as Schedule I by the federal government makes it an “untouchable” issue for health insurers. However, some are optimistic that public policy will catch up with public sentiment and that the federal government will reschedule cannabis to a different, less ominous category.

Current State of Medical Marijuana

Despite cannabis being on Schedule I and being prohibited, medical marijuana has been approved through voter or legislative decision in 37 states and the District of Columbia, with $1 billion in medical marijuana sales made in Massachusetts alone in the last four years, according to state data.

States That Have Approved Medical Marijuana