The largest marijuana company in New Mexico is pressing insurers to cover medical cannabis costs for certain patients, a move it says is required by new state law. Ultra Health sent a letter to insurance companies and state agencies on Friday, arguing that the new law eliminating cost-sharing and out-of-pocket costs for behavioral health services and “all medications” associated with the treatment of mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders, and trauma spectrum disorders should be interpreted to include medical cannabis for the nearly 73,000 New Mexicans who are registered patients for related qualifying conditions. Under the enacted law, the definition of behavioral health services was expanded to include “professional and ancillary services for the treatment, habilitation, prevention and identification of mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders and trauma spectrum disorders, including inpatient, detoxification, residential treatment, and partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient therapy, outpatient and all medications, including brand-name pharmacy drugs when generics are unavailable.” The operative phrase there is “all medications,” Ultra Health pointed out.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/22/2022 09:18:00