Bennabis Health and CannaCoverage have launched a program to include NJ medical cannabis coverage under employee benefits.
Currently, only prescription medicine is available through employer benefits. Cannabis cannot be prescribed as a traditional medicine and covered until federal prohibition ends.
So, Bennabis Health has negotiated a 15% discount off New Jersey medical cannabis dispensary prices. It’s like a prescription discount card benefit.
They have assembled a small network of participating medical cannabis dispensaries that prioritize the importance of supporting patients in their cannabis journey.
Currently, their network of participating New Jersey medical cannabis dispensaries includes Valley Wellness of Raritan Township, the Botanist in Atlantic City, Williamstown and Egg Harbor Township, Harmony in Secaucus, and Holistic Solutions of Atco. They also have Alta Vida in New Mexico and Herbal Alternatives in Washington, DC participating. More are in the works.
CannaCoverage & Bennabis Health Innovate
“We are pleased to partner with Bennabis Health at a pivotal moment in history. As cannabis is legalized in the majority of states across the U.S.,” CannaCoverage Co-Founder & CEO Nichelle Santos said.
CannaCoverage believes medical cannabis provides relief for qualified patients. Also, employers can find savings through this approach to treatment as well. They have contracted with Bennabis Health to bring the medical cannabis benefits program into employee benefits packages.
The program will guide patients on their medical cannabis treatment to alleviate symptoms and side effects of many conditions. This helps increase quality of life and reduce the skyrocketing cost of healthcare.
Bennabis Health is seeking to make medical cannabis understandable and affordable.
“Having medical cannabis as an option will improve health outcomes and workforce production, reduce addiction rates, and increase quality of life,” she added.
Helping NJ Medical Cannabis Patients
“This is an opportunity to bring Bennabis Health to mainstream America in all industries, not just employers of the cannabis & hemp industries,” CannaCoverage Co-Founder and Chief Operator Officer Jeff Booker explained. “Through this alternative medical cannabis benefit, tremendous cost savings will be realized in reduction of medical claims and prescription benefits, to impact the bottom line.”
CannaCoverage offers insurance consulting services to many employers in the cannabis, CBD, and hemp industries. They have a deep understanding of both cannabis and insurance and are uniquely qualified to inform and educate employers and HR professionals about the future of healthcare.
Santos and Booker also have taken up the leadership of the Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana (M4)MM of New Jersey and held events on pressing issues.
The head of Bennabis Health is Don Parisi, “a long-time dispensary board member, former President of a health plan, and former New Jersey Deputy Attorney General.”
Most New Jersey cannabis is said by many advocates and experts to be too expensive for low-quality products. The price of products and the tedious NJ medical cannabis patient process is why the number of patients has dropped. It has gone from a high of about 135,000 to 98,000. It is also why many turn to the underground legacy market.
Federal Cannabis Legalization and Healthcare
Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I narcotic to Schedule III. So CannaCoverage and Bennabis Health anticipate legalization will occur in the near future.
Legalization has been in the “near future” for several years.
They believe Schedule III will help normalize cannabis as medicine. The future of health care could include it as an official new benefit option.
However, many cannabis advocates do not like the idea of Schedule III. They believe it would likely ruin the state-legal adult use cannabis markets.
