Last week, Benefits Canada reported that Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw Companies Ltd. had introduced medical marijuana to their employee drug plan. Eligible employees will be able to claim up to $1,500 worth of the drug each year, but only if they are suffering from cancer or multiple sclerosis.
Shoppers and Loblaw aren’t the first employers to offer those benefits but they may the first to do so voluntarily.
Read: Shoppers, Loblaw introduce medical marijuana into benefits plan
In 2015, University of Waterloo undergraduate student Jonathan Zaid fought for and won the right to have his medical marijuana prescription covered under his student benefits plan. And in February 2017, the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission ruled the Canadian Elevator Industry Welfare Trust Fund had to cover medical marijuana for an employee who had been injured on the job.
South of the border, a New Jersey man recently won the right to have his medical marijuana covered by his worker’s compensation insurer, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Andrew Watson had suffered an injury while working at a lumber mill in 2008 and briefly treated his pain using marijuana obtained through the state’s medical marijuana program. But when the insurer refused to pay, he switched to prescription opiates, which were covered, according to the newspaper. His physician testified that medical marijuana would allow Watson to reduce his opiate intake, lower the risk of serious side-effects and improve daily function. In December 2016, the judge ruled Watson would be reimbursed for the marijuana he purchased in 2008, as well as for future purchases, the Philadelphia Inquirer noted.
Read: Benefits plan must cover medical pot, human rights commission rules
While Health Canada hasn’t provided medical marijuana with a drug identification number, the Canada Revenue Agency classifies medical marijuana as a medical expense, meaning employees can use health-care spending accounts to cover those costs. But most group benefits coverage of the drug has so far been on a case-by-case basis.
Do you think the Shoppers and Loblaw decision will encourage other plan sponsors to follow suit? Have your say in our weekly poll.
Read: Medical questions, regulations create confusion for medical pot coverage
As for last week’s poll, it asked whether you agreed with the new 18-month parental leave the federal government introduced in the 2017 budget. The results were close: 54 per cent said the change provides parents with more flexibility, while 46 per cent said it doesn’t add any benefits but makes the system more complicated.
