Health Insurance and CBD

Health Insurance and CBD

A relief to patients everywhere, the medical use of cannabis is being legalized in more and more states and territories each and every day. This is a significant breakthrough for the cannabis industry, comparing to where it was just a few years ago. However, despite these legislations that have flashed the green light for the use of marijuana for medical purposes, patients are still responsible for covering their own medication.

Why Are Cannabis and CBD Not Covered By Insurance Companies?

What does this mean exactly? This means that health insurance companies have not stepped forward to cover cannabis products. You might be asking why, as the cannabis industry is certainly on the rise and the law now seems to be for it. The reason is simple: federal law still poses prohibitions in the area of cannabis use, even if it has been proven to be solely for medical purposes.

Let us look into this more deeply so that we can better understand what this means for all parties involved. Under federal law – specifically, the Controlled Substances Act – cannabis is still considered a Schedule 1 substance. What this means for patients relying on medical marijuana is that health insurers will not get their hands dirty shouldering insurance costs until the little green plant is reclassified.

Insurance Alternatives

However, some insurance companies do cover other legal alternatives to medical marijuana. AIDS and chemotherapy patients, in particular, benefit from this, as substitutes that they use for their treatment such as Marinol, which is a synthetic form of THC and used to help with nausea and loss of appetite, are covered by insurers. An argument exists that these alternative drugs are the cause of a myriad of negative side effects such as issues with sleep, headaches, and even depression – and that with medical cannabis, that which typically takes the form of CBD Oil, patients would be able to avoid these side effects entirely.

Either way, there is no cannabis product on the market that is covered by health insurance. Not even CBD products such as CBD Oils and powders which have been proven to be non-psychoactive and even possess a number of health benefits for patients are insured by companies.

A Workaround

One workaround that patients have discovered, however, that may help with the coverage of medical marijuana usage is the provision of worker’s compensation. Although it is important to note that this benefit is only available to a demographic minority, it still helps to know more about it.

Instances wherein injured workers were reimbursed by the state for the use of medical marijuana that was prescribed to them while treating a work-related injury have been recorded. The medical program provided by the state even goes beyond rewarding money back to the worker through worker’s compensation and addresses treatment that will be done in the future.

Although medical marijuana costs are generally not covered by health insurance companies at the moment, some states pose dispensaries that offer discounts for their various products. There is always a way to work around the law to help patients get the help they need without completely puncturing their pockets.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *