Insurance coverage for mmj

I thought I would start a thread dedicated to insurance coverage for medical marijuana.
I think this is a very important topic, that will become relevant for many of us.
Perhaps if patients would be kind enough to share some information it might help other patients in their quest for coverage. Maybe we can help each other ...
Thanks in advance...

I'm concerned with the idea of insurance coverage for Mmj... I look at this as a way for large scale producers to artificially inflate their prices.

Large scale producers should be looking to achieve economies of scale - if they can't compete price and quality wise with homegrown how will they stay in business? I say they should be forced to compete rather than carving out a pseudo-monopoly for them.

I don't see that happening for a long time, if it ever happens, be it Canada or the US. To make matters worse in Canada, they banned the right for MMJ users to grow their own at home and expect them now to purchase it thru licensed grow facilities. This does nothing but inflate the prices of it and expands the black market. I'm really big on having the right to grow your own. That shocked me a lot when Canada banned MMJ users from growing their own as of April 1st when it had been allowed since 2001.

Brewery said:

I'm concerned with the idea of insurance coverage for Mmj... I look at this as a way for large scale producers to artificially inflate their prices.

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Interesting point.

I think it will happen eventually and it is already covered for vets . The biggest obstacle and one orchestrated by Health Canada is their refusal to issue a D.I.N. or something equivalent. The almost certain legalization will result in many more research studies into the health benefits of mmj and hopefully erase the stigma surrounding it. That said, I am not on any health plan, so insurance wouldn't help me. Living on <$800/mo, it's grow or go with no medication of any kind.

VIANARCHRIS said:

I think it will happen eventually and it is already covered for vets . The biggest obstacle and one orchestrated by Health Canada is their refusal to issue a D.I.N. or something equivalent. The almost certain legalization will result in many more research studies into the health benefits of mmj and hopefully erase the stigma surrounding it. That said, I am not on any health plan, so insurance wouldn't help me. Living on <$800/mo, it's grow or go with no medication of any kind.

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I don't think DIN will be required. I think we are on the verge of a breakthrough of sorts.
Vets are covered, so are RCMP and some others...
There are some cases of insurance coverage...it would be great to hear about them...hint hint...

Brewery said:

I'm concerned with the idea of insurance coverage for Mmj... I look at this as a way for large scale producers to artificially inflate their prices.

Large scale producers should be looking to achieve economies of scale - if they can't compete price and quality wise with homegrown how will they stay in business? I say they should be forced to compete rather than carving out a pseudo-monopoly for them.

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Just like how dental work is stupid expensive due to insurance.

VIANARCHRIS said:

I think it will happen eventually and it is already covered for vets . The biggest obstacle and one orchestrated by Health Canada is their refusal to issue a D.I.N. or something equivalent. The almost certain legalization will result in many more research studies into the health benefits of mmj and hopefully erase the stigma surrounding it. That said, I am not on any health plan, so insurance wouldn't help me. Living on <$800/mo, it's grow or go with no medication of any kind.

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For there to be a din there must be consistanly. Buy a pill anywhere across Canada and it's the same. Buy a gram of bud and it's diffrent every time. There for I beleive it will never have a din.

leaffan said:

I don't think DIN will be required. I think we are on the verge of a breakthrough of sorts.
Vets are covered, so are RCMP and some others...
There are some cases of insurance coverage...it would be great to hear about them...hint hint...

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Just a random thought...if it were to be covered under health insurance, including provincial coverage for low income, it may work in favour of home grows. What province wants to take on that expense?

An enlightened one.
It boils down to money.
If mmj is cheaper to cover than alternatives...

Gmack420 said:

For there to be a din there must be consistanly. Buy a pill anywhere across Canada and it's the same. Buy a gram of bud and it's diffrent every time. There for I beleive it will never have a din.

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That's why I thought 'something equivalent'. The chemical components of each plant can be determined and buds separated and sold by % of THC, CBD etc. So not so much a DIN, more of a classification as cannabis of a certain strength.

VIANARCHRIS said:

That's why I thought 'something equivalent'. The chemical components of each plant can be determined and buds separated and sold by % of THC, CBD etc. So not so much a DIN, more of a classification as cannabis of a certain strength.

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They already sell a syntactic mj pill. Sativix or something. Still nothing for the other lesser known canibinoids. We already do class pot by thc and cbd content so your probably on the right track.

Gmack420 said:

They already sell a syntactic mj pill. Sativix or something. Still nothing for the other lesser known canibinoids. We already do class pot by thc and cbd content so your probably on the right track.

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You're thinking of Marinol or Dronabinol... regularly prescribed and covered.
Sativex is a drug that you spray under the tongue made by GW / Bayer. It is a mix of thc and cbd, and is perscribed and covered. The MS society of Canada endorse Sativex, so does HC.
So...you can see....it's not a huge jump...

As some of you know I am trying to get WCB to cover my costs. Don't see that happening anytime soon. What concerns me is big pharma getting in here and making mj better. I think there might be too much money involved for mj to be "approved" as a medicine because Bayer, gw, etc, etc will want there research money back. I don't know if I've made myself clear......

WHATFG said:

As some of you know I am trying to get WCB to cover my costs. Don't see that happening anytime soon. What concerns me is big pharma getting in here and making mj better. I think there might be too much money involved for mj to be "approved" as a medicine because Bayer, gw, etc, etc will want there research money back. I don't know if I've made myself clear......

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Yeah I understand what you're saying....hey did you catch the Leafs last night vs Boston???? 6-1

I think coverage is a double edged sword. Certainly those that are not being able to use mmj due to the cost have the most to benefit with coverage.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Insurance business is separate from Big Pharma.

A lady in Ns fought the provincial government and they agreed to pay for her meds as long as she got it from a government approved source (an LP) I have half a mind to look into this as I'm unsure of the specific details of the case. But in theory.. I'm a patient.. There's a fair amount of patients in ns...
Shouldn't we all get it for free?

I bet there is a limit on how much they will pay for. I couldn't see walking into an office with a script for a lb a month and them saying sure we'll pay for that. I think the vets and rc's are limited to 3-5g/d as per HC instructions no doubt.

leaffan said:

You're thinking of Marinol or Dronabinol... regularly prescribed and covered.
Sativex is a drug that you spray under the tongue made by GW / Bayer. It is a mix of thc and cbd, and is perscribed and covered. The MS society of Canada endorse Sativex, so does HC.
So...you can see....it's not a huge jump...

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Do you know how much oil is in Sativex by chance? They charge ,,,what is it.. 125 for a bottle... I think it lasts a couple days?? Not sure about the length of time but its pathetic as well,
What do you think it would cost to make the equivalent ....at home? A comparison with how much they JACK PATIENTS!.

I have a Health Spending Account for my benefits coverage for the company I work for. It covers any medical expenses that are allowable by Revenue Canada. As cannabis is considered an eligible medical expense by Revenue Canada, I can apply for reimbursement for medications and a vaporizer. The HSA is with Wellknit. According to my plan, I can get reimbursed up to $750 directly from my HSA and anything more than that gets reimbursed 100% by Co-Operators Group. The company I work for is amazing.

As for traditional health coverage from most businesses, why wouldn't they cover for 80% of a prescription of cannabis? There is no DIN but my HSA is just requiring an invoice with my name and my LPs details. They were actually pretty knowledgeable about the MMPR process.

gb123 said:

Do you know how much oil is in Sativex by chance? They charge ,,,what is it.. 125 for a bottle... I think it lasts a couple days?? Not sure about the length of time but its pathetic as well,
What do you think it would cost to make the equivalent ....at home? A comparison with how much they JACK PATIENTS!.

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Well it's not oil, but close enough....not sure on cost per bottle but when we looked at it last year it was estimated at roughly $4k for the year. Our doctor suggested mmj from a CC instead. Main reason was a better chance of finding the right strain.
Cost to make oil at home...minimal for sure.