We know that medical marijuana has been legal in New York State for a few years, and we also know that recreational marijuana is now legal in New York State. Here's a question that I’ve been wondering about... If you need marijuana for medical reasons here in New York State, will your insurance pay for it?

It seems that if a doctor feels that you would benefit from medical marijuana and recommends it to treat your condition, it would be covered by insurance, right? Wrong. And why is that? First of all, you have to get a medical marijuana card and that will set you back anywhere from 75 - 200 dollars according to cannacaredocs.com. And insurance won’t cover that. At best, you may be able to get discounts if you are a veteran or low income. 

Okay, so now you have your medical marijuana card and you want to get some weed or edibles to help with what’s ailing you. You go to a dispensary, get what you need and pay for it. No insurance coverage, it’s up to you to pay.

So why won’t insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare, cover the costs of medical marijuana. Verywellhealth.com explains what we all knew anyway. You can blame the federal government for that. Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level and it’s not approved by the FDA, so no insurance covers it. And that’s a shame. There are so many people that could benefit from medical marijuana, but they can’t afford it. There are a few cannabinoid based drugs that have been approved by the FDA for certain conditions, but that doesn’t help the average Joe that doesn’t happen to have one of those conditions yet still could benefit from medical marijuana.

So, if your healthcare provider feels that you would benefit from medical marijuana, be prepared to pay for it because right now there is no health insurance that covers it. It doesn’t seem right, but that’s the way it is for now.

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