MMJ and health insurance

[Eli Bloom]

hey guys, this may be documented on here already but i'm feelin lazy ...a good friend of mine in Colorado wants to get his medical but he's going to need to apply for new health insurance in a few months and is concerned that he'll be denied if they see he's got mmj...do insurance companies have access to the registry? would that be a problem for him? thanks

 

[dman16]

no access for insurance companies. personally i wouldnt mention because as far as i know they are in no way entitled to that info.

 

[accessndx]

Here's the real problem: it may not be an issue right now...but it COULD be one retrospectively. Let's say his insurance carrier 2 years from now wants to do a retrospective review of his medical records. They could find that information contained therein....and it COULD be grounds for termination of the policy or post payment audits resulting in money being taken back from the doctors/hospitals/labs that provided services and were compensated. Then it would be as if he had no coverage whatsoever and he'd be left holdin' the proverbial bag.
That's only IF the respective insurance company has an issue with MMJ. Not sure what their stance on it is at all.
For the time being, I'm not sure they do a wide search for this type of thing.....it probably would not be caught initially. UNLESS it is somehow considered a "pre-existing" condition for which he required care, and the insurance carrier has a clause enabling them to discharge benefits for pre-existing conditions.....
This especially happens if you've had a lapse in coverage for any substantial period of time, or in some cases any time at all.
It's definitely fairly complex, it relates to state and federal law as well as internal insurance policies.
I hope your friend's situation works out well.