New York Senate Approves Bill to Mandate Health Insurance Cover Cannabis

VIDEO – BUT HOW MUCH IS THE DEDUCTIBLE? –

June 3, 2022 – “For thousands of patients, medical marijuana is a safer and more effective medication than other drugs, especially opioids,” a justification memo attached to the bill says. “While it can be prohibitively expensive for many patients, especially in the absence of insurance coverage, it may often be less expensive than what their insurance coverage pays for other medications.”

Responding to concerns from fellow lawmakers on the floor ahead of the vote about the potential costs of the legislation, Savino said that “it is time for New York State to lead the way on this issue.”

“Some state is going to have to force this issue,” she said. “I believe that our state is the one that should lead the way on this.” If the bill is enacted, public health insurance programs that would be subject to the proposed policy change include Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC), Essential Plan programs and workers compensation.

“Cost is the primary barrier to patient access in New York’s medical marijuana program. Medicaid, other public health plans, and commercial health insurance plans do not cover medical marijuana, forcing patients to pay out of pocket,” the justification memo continues. “Some patients begin treatment only to stop due to inability to pay, while others turn to the black market. Efforts by registered organizations to offer discounts have helped, but are inadequate for many low-income patients.”

While there “would presumably not be federal matching funds until the federal government changes its policies” for programs like Medicaid and Child Health Plus, the memo says that “New York’s Medicaid and Child Health Plus programs have always covered people and services for which we do not receive federal match.”