Does Insurance Cover Medical Marijuana?

Cannabis has always been a fiery topic for discussion in the medical field. However, due to its healing properties, medical marijuana has got its spot in the medical arena.

Due to several benefits of medical marijuana, doctors recommend cannabis to patients suffering from anxiety, depression, autism, anorexia, and many more.

In this blog, we will discuss if your insurance can cover your medical marijuana treatment?

Does Insurance Pay For Medical Marijuanas?

As we know, health insurance companies never pay for something illegal. Even though the government has legalized medical marijuana due to its medicinal properties, still medical insurance companies don’t cover your medical marijuana charges.

The primary and foremost reason for health insurance companies not including medical marijuana in their plans is the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). It disapproves of cannabis as a medical drug. Medical insurance companies are not allowed to cover FDA disapproved drugs; that’s why companies can’t claim your cannabis insurance.

The reason behind FDA disapproval over medical marijuana is because cannabis has a tremendous risk of addiction. Even though medical marijuana has several health benefits, DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) has categorized marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic.

Other than FDA objection, medical insurance companies deny cannabis insurance due to a lack of proper research on medical marijuana.

Although the government has believed in marijuana healings, insurance companies are looking for testing of marijuana over multiple clinical trials and double-blind studies.

Due to the less availability of cannabis, it is not possible to perform large-scale clinical trials; subsequently, insurance companies are not showing any interest in covering medical marijuana in their plans.

What Next If You Cannot Afford Medical Marijuana?

Now, if you are a person who cannot afford medical marijuana but you are still helpless to buy medical marijuana due to your medical condition. In that case, you can choose some synthetic form of marijuana.

Syndros is an FDA-approved synthetic marijuana drug. Marinol, just like Syndros, is a Schedule III substance, which indicates that it is acceptable for medical use and has low to medium potential for abuse.

The health insurance company covers these synthetic medical marijuana drugs. Due to this reason, doctors recommend synthetic marijuana drugs to patients who cannot afford medical marijuana.

Does Insurance Cover CBD Oil?

CBD (Cannabidiol) is a psychoactive compound present in cannabis. It is advised as CBD oil by doctors to patients who have a mental disorder. However, CBD oil doesn’t cover medical insurance; hence there is no CBD Oil policy.

Do Dispensaries Take Insurance?

As we know, marijuana is not legal in all states, and insurance companies can’t cover medical marijuana insurance. Henceforth, dispensaries don’t have any contracts with insurance companies. That is why dispensaries don’t offer any discounts and don’t claim any marijuana insurance policy.

Conclusion

There are several reasons, due to which insurance companies are not able to claim medical marijuana expenses. However, researchers will be able to convince the FDA and get it approved. Soon insurance companies will include medical marijuana in their plans. Even though synthetic medical marijuana drugs are not the same as cannabis and have minimal side effects, FDA approval for Medical marijuana can take long. Until then, you can have synthetic medical marijuana to overcome your medical complications.