Medical cannabis laws lower individual market health insurance premiums

Cook, Amanda; Sirmans, E. Tice; Stype, Amanda

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104143

Cited by 3 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Additionally, this study builds on the work of Anderson and Rees (2023) and Cook et al, (2023) in developing a standard for evaluating cannabis policy. 34,55 For each state, we provide the year of law enactment and the year the policy was effective (Supplemental Table 1). We agree with prior research that suggests using the year a medical cannabis law was enacted to evaluate its impact likely leads to misspecified models as there is typically time between policy enactment and availability of cannabis products.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We followed the ‘effective date’ of implementation rule for coding changes to medical cannabis laws established by Cook, Sirmans, & Stype (2023) and Anderson & Rees (2023), 34,55 wherein the medical cannabis law is considered effective when medical sale is operationalized rather than when the law is passed. Notably, there can be large periods of time between when a medical cannabis law is adopted to actual sale.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found that, seven years after adoption, MCLs result in lower health insurer premiums, with a reduction of $-1662.7 after year seven, -$1541.8 after year eight, and $-1625.8 after year nine. 34 Research has shown that Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries have fewer prescriptions after a state adopts a medical cannabis law and those fewer prescriptions translate into cost savings. 35,36 Specifically, research finds a 6% reduction for Medicaid enrollees.…”

Section: Medical Cannabis Laws and Healthcare Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We controlled for states that legalized cannabis so as to not confound the relationship between medical cannabis laws and healthcare costs. 34,55 wherein the medical cannabis law is considered effective when medical sale is operationalized rather than when the law is passed. Notably, there can be large periods of time between when a medical cannabis law is adopted to actual sale.…”

Section: Data Sources and Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Measuring the Impact of Medical Cannabis Law Adoption on Employer-sponsored Health Insurance Costs: A Difference-in-Difference analysis, 2003-2022

Doucette,

Hemraj,

Fisher

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Recent studies suggest that medical cannabis laws might contribute to a reduction in health insurance costs within the individual health insurance markets at the state level. We investigated the effects of adopting a medical cannabis law on the cost of employer-sponsored health insurance. Methods: We analyzed state-level data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) Private Sector spanning from 2003 to 2022. The outcomes included log transformed average total premiums per employee for single, employee-plus-one, and family coverage plans. We utilized the Sun and Abraham (2021) difference-in-difference (DiD) method, looking at the overall DiD and event-study DiD. Models were adjusted for various state-level demographics and dichotomous policy variables including whether a state later adopted recreational cannabis as well as time and unit fixed effects and population weights. Results: For states that adopted a medical cannabis law, there was a significant decrease in the log average total premium per employee for single (-0.034, standard error [SE] = 0.009) and employee plus one (-0.025, SE = 0.009) coverage plans considering the first 10 years of policy change compared to states without such laws. Looking at the last five years of policy change, we saw increases in effect size and statistical significance. Sensitivity analyses suggest findings are robust to our model specifications. Discussion Adoption of a medical cannabis law may contribute to decreases in healthcare costs. This phenomenon is likely a secondary effect and suggests positive externalities outside of medical cannabis patients.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Medical Cannabis Laws and Healthcare Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Sources and Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Measuring the Impact of Medical Cannabis Law Adoption on Employer-sponsored Health Insurance Costs: A Difference-in-Difference analysis, 2003-2022

Doucette,

Hemraj,

Fisher

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Measuring the Impact of Medical Cannabis Law Adoption on Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Costs: A Difference-in-Difference Analysis, 2003–2022

Doucette,

Hemraj,

Fisher

et al. 2024

Appl Health Econ Health Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Impact of Medical Cannabis Treatment on Healthcare Utilization in Patients with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Doucette,

Macfarlan,

Kasabuski

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Medical cannabis is increasingly used as a therapy for managing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Patients with PTSD often have high healthcare utilization rates, particularly for acute services. This study examines the association between medical cannabis treatment and healthcare utilization among patients with PTSD. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using cross-sectional data with temporal elements, derived from administrative records provided by Leafwell, among patients with PTSD. The cohort was defined based on medical cannabis use: the treated group included patients who had used medical cannabis for at least one year (returning for medical card renewal), while the untreated group consisted of cannabis-naive patients reporting no prior cannabis use. The primary outcomes were healthcare utilization within the past six months, including at least one urgent care visit, emergency department (ED) visit, or hospitalization related to their primary medical condition. We used inverse probability weighting with regression adjustment (IPWRA) to estimate the average treatment effect (ATE) of medical cannabis use on healthcare utilization, controlling for key demographics and health factors, including PTSD severity. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of our findings. Results: Among the 1,946 participants, the treated group (n = 1,261) had significantly lower healthcare utilization rates compared to the untreated group (n = 685). Using the doubly robust IPWRA model, medical cannabis treatment was associated with a significant 35.6% reduction in urgent care visits (coefficient = -0.024, Standard Error (SE) = 0.0117) and a 35.1% reduction in ED visits (coefficient = -0.027, SE = 0.0124). Hospitalization rates were 26.3% lower among the exposed group but did not reach statistical significance. Sensitivity analyses utilizing alternative ATE estimation strategies displayed consistent reductions in urgent care and ED visits among cannabis users, though hospitalizations remained non-significant. Adjusting the IPWRA model's tolerance levels strengthened the found associations while maintaining strong covariate balance. Fewer than 2% of the exposed group reported an adverse event. Conclusions:These findings suggest that medical cannabis treatment among patients with PTSD may be associated with reduced utilization of urgent care and ED services. This relationship remains robust across multiple statistical models and sensitivity analyses, underscoring the potential role of medical cannabis in reducing acute healthcare needs in this population. Further longitudinal research is warranted to explore causality and assess its impact on hospitalization rates.

show abstract

Medical cannabis laws lower individual market health insurance premiums

Cited by 3 publications

References 41 publications

Measuring the Impact of Medical Cannabis Law Adoption on Employer-sponsored Health Insurance Costs: A Difference-in-Difference analysis, 2003-2022

Measuring the Impact of Medical Cannabis Law Adoption on Employer-sponsored Health Insurance Costs: A Difference-in-Difference analysis, 2003-2022

Measuring the Impact of Medical Cannabis Law Adoption on Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Costs: A Difference-in-Difference Analysis, 2003–2022

Impact of Medical Cannabis Treatment on Healthcare Utilization in Patients with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About