The latest news, tips and updates
from The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
Health insurers are unlikely to start covering the cost of medical marijuana, even as more states approve its use, The Washington Post reports. Earlier this month, Massachusetts joined 17 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Substance abuse treatment providers must take steps now to get ready for the influx of new patients they will begin to see in January 2014 as a result of the Affordable Care Act, according to an expert speaking at the National Conference on Addiction Disorders.
One of the biggest points of contention about marijuana is whether or not it can be considered medicine, according to Kevin Sabet, PhD, Policy Consultant and Assistant Professor, University of Florida. He says that while smoked crude marijuana is not medicine, marijuana does have medicinal properties – found in its individual components.
The federal government will decide within the next month whether nurse anesthetists can be reimbursed by Medicare for treating chronic pain, The Wall Street Journal reports. Some doctors say such a move could complicate the fight against prescription drug abuse.
Patients in Kentucky with long-term medical conditions that require controlled substances must submit to urine drug tests under a new state law designed to combat prescription drug abuse. Those tests are not always covered by insurance companies, the Associated Press reports.
A new government report finds that Medicare routinely refills pain medications without new prescriptions that are required by federal law.
Almost six million Americans will face a tax penalty under the Affordable Care Act for not obtaining health insurance, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
A growing number of children enrolled in Medicaid are taking antipsychotic drugs for off-label uses, a new study finds. These drugs are prescribed for a purpose that has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Affordable Care Act provides protections that benefit people with mental illness who have private insurance, according to The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.
The Affordable Care Act will not reduce Medicaid or Medicare benefits for people with mental illness, according to The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.
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