MDOs not ‘currently’ planning to restrict medicinal cannabis prescribing cover

The MDOs say they will continue to monitor this area of healthcare.

Three of Australia’s MDOs report no plans to restrict cover for medicinal cannabis prescribing despite MDA National deeming it an “unusual practice”.

Last month, AusDoc reported that MDA National’s latest policy would not cover any doctor for medicinal cannabis prescribing unless they had specialist fellowship or “equivalent specialist qualifications”.

It said medicinal cannabis was an “emerging risk from an insurance perspective”, and it advised prescribers to get in touch to discuss their situation, especially those working at telehealth clinics that only prescribed cannabis.

But Avant, MIPS and Tego said they were not planning to follow suit.