Pubdate: Mon, 27 Jul 2015
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Alexandra Posadzki
Page: B4

MEDICAL MARIJUANA INSURANCE COVERAGE ON THE HORIZON: EXPERTS

TORONTO - Canadians who have been prescribed medical marijuana could 
one day see their insurance company footing the bill, experts 
predict, following the introduction of new Health Canada rules that 
allow for the sale of cannabis oils.

Health Canada announced revamped medical marijuana regulations 
earlier this month after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that users 
of the drug should be permitted to consume it in other forms, such as 
oils and edibles, rather than having to smoke dried buds.

"You're going to see insurance companies slowly start to creep into 
the sector," says Khurram Malik, an analyst at Jacob Securities Inc., 
noting that the new regulations will allow medical marijuana 
producers to sell gel caps similar to those made from cod liver oil.

Experts say the changes are a major step toward legitimizing the drug 
in the eyes of doctors and insurers.

"When something doesn't look different than other medicines, it 
becomes much easier for people to get comfortable with the idea that 
this is, in fact, a possible treatment option for patients," says 
Bruce Linton, the chief executive of Smiths Falls, Ont.-based Tweed 
Marijuana Inc.

However, medical marijuana producers still have one major hurdle to 
overcome before insurers begin routinely funding the drug - cannabis 
currently doesn't have a drug identification number, known as a DIN.

"If it was issued a DIN by Health Canada, it's quite likely that the 
insurance companies would cover it," says Wendy Hope, a spokeswoman 
for the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association Inc.

"To obtain a DIN, the new form of medical marijuana would need to go 
through the full Health Canada approval process like any new drug."

Most insurance companies don't routinely cover medical marijuana. But 
some insurers, including Manulife, say they will consider making an 
exception if the employer has requested it for one of its employees.

Malik says the primary reason why medical marijuana doesn't have a 
DIN is a lack of rigorous, clinical research on its efficacy, but he 
suspects that's about to change.

He says there is a financial incentive for insurers to pay for 
medical marijuana, rather than shelling out for pricier chronic pain 
drugs such as opiates.

"From a dollars and cents standpoint, if marijuana is the same thing 
as a narcotic opiate, they would much rather cover marijuana because 
they're in the business to make money."
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