Class-action lawsuit filed over medical cannabis
By Nick Catlin
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New Mexico (KOAT) — New Mexico Top Organics-Ultra Health along with six medical patients have filed a class-action lawsuit against seven insurers in New Mexico.
The lawsuit was filed for a failure to cover medical cannabis costs.
The lawsuit seeks, “a determination that medical cannabis is a health care service for treatment of behavioral health conditions.” Through being a behavioral health service, it argues that the cost must be fully covered by insurance.
Senate Bill 317 was signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in April, 2021. This bill stated that insurers should cover all of behavioral health services, which includes behavioral health conditions.
The seven insurers listed in the lawsuit are Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co., Presbyterian Health Plan, Presbyterian Insurance Co., True Health New Mexico and Western Sky Community Care.
One of the six medical patients listed in the lawsuit is Sen. Jacob R. Candelaria from Bernalillo County. The other five plaintiffs listed are also medicinal patients.
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