AMA/MSNJ oppose NJ bill that would mandate insurance coverage for cannabis delivery devices
The AMA joined the Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ) in opposition to a bill that would require workers’ compensation and other insurance carriers to provide coverage for the medical use of cannabis. In a letter to the New Jersey General Assembly (PDF), the AMA explained that the bill "would require insurance coverage for products that have not had the necessary clinical trials to assess their safety. Moreover, the bill does not recognize that cannabis has a high potential for abuse or that nearly all cannabis products have not been approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The bill also would extend coverage to delivery devices such as bongs, pipes, vapes, tinctures, oils, papers and other products that have not been evaluated for safety and likely would increase smoking and lead to other harms"
"New Jersey’s limited health care funds should not be used to pay for treatments that have not received FDA approval," said Larry Downs, CEO of the Medical Society of New Jersey. "Instead, we support common sense approaches to treating patients’ pain, like removing insurance company barriers to evidence-based treatment."
