Study Finds Medical Marijuana Could Save Medicare Millions

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According to two separate studies, medical marijuana could save Medicare an estimated $450 million annually. It could also save as much as $1.1 billion in Medicaid spending on prescription drugs every year.

University of Georgia researchers Ashley Bradford and W. David Bradford studied FDA-approved drug prescription rates from 2010 to 2013. They found that prescribing rates for certain drugs dropped in states that have medical marijuana programs. They published their findings in the Health Affairs medical journal in the summer of 2016.

Proponents of medical marijuana claim that cannabis eases the symptoms of medical conditions ranging from depression, anxiety, glaucoma, chronic pain, nausea, psychoses, insomnia, and seizures. So the University of Georgia researchers decided to study whether prescription rates dropped for FDA-approved drugs used to treat these ailments in states where medical marijuana is legal.

They found that, with the exception of glaucoma, doctors wrote fewer prescriptions for drugs used to treat these medical conditions than they did in the years before the states passed medical marijuana laws. Doctors in those states wrote 11 percent fewer FDA-approved prescriptions for pain alone between 2010 and 2013.

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In total, the researchers estimate that the drop in the number of prescription drugs prescribed saved Medicare about $150 million in a single year. If all 50 states were to implement medical marijuana programs, they theorize that Medicare could save $450 million annually as patients chose marijuana over FDA-approved drugs.

Last month, the same researchers published a follow-up to their original study. This one showed that Medicaid costs could also dip in response to medical marijuana programs. Their latest research says that Medicaid could save about $1.1 billion annually if medical marijuana programs existed in every state.

Studies Limited in Scope  

However, there are a number of potential problems with the University of Georgia studies.

First, both studies are limited in scope because little information is available about medical marijuana and its impact on the medical care and costs. Until more states legalize medical marijuana, (29 states have done so thus far) it will remain unclear exactly how these laws will affect overall Medicaid and Medicare costs.

Marijuana Still Illegal Under Federal Law

The federal government also classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug. This means that possessing it or prescribing it is illegal under federal law. It also means that federal funding for marijuana research is severely limited. This makes it extremely difficult for doctors and researchers to test the drug for potential medical uses.

In addition, there could be other explanations for the drop in prescription drug rates other than medical marijuana use. While the researchers’ data shows a correlation between medical marijuana use and a drop in prescription drug costs, this correlation does not prove cause and effect.

Finally, it’s unclear whether we’ll continue to see a dip in Medicare and Medicaid prescription drug costs if marijuana is reclassified. Right now, neither Medicare nor Medicaid pays for medical marijuana because it is illegal on the federal level.

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But if the federal government reclassified marijuana as a Schedule II or III drug, it could be covered under federal plans like Medicare and Medicaid. This would certainly decrease the amount of money the programs saved every year. Although the cost of a medical marijuana prescription would likely be much lower than for a Schedule II drug such as OxyContin, the overall savings would likely be less than what the researchers estimated.

However, if marijuana is reclassified and found in clinical trials to treat or lessen the symptoms of certain medical conditions such as chronic pain, there could be a significant decrease in overdose rates for prescription painkillers. And patients might see a decrease in their health care costs as well.