The Insurance Institute of Michigan has revealed that the insurance industry in the state has supported a proposed law that would stop the workers compensation from being able to fund medical marijuana claims.
There is already a bill being considered by the legislature in Michigan which would ban auto insurance companies from being allowed to provide payouts for medical marijuana as an part of accident claims. Some auto insurers have already been making these payments as there is some uncertainty connected to the law regarding medical marijuana in the state.
At the end of September 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 321- the legislation that would ban auto insurance companies from paying for medicinal marijuana claims. According to a spokesperson for the Insurance Institute of Michigan, it is now expected that the bill will go before the state Senate.
The spokesperson went on to say that auto insurance companies have been asking for better clarification about the medicinal marijuana law in Michigan, as it is the only state in the country that holds those insurers responsible for medical benefits over an unlimited lifetime period. This means that it could be possible for an auto insurer to have to pay for an individual’s medical marijuana payments indefinitely.
The spokesperson said that the insurance industry had working to include language in the law that would ban workers compensation coverage from including payments for medical marijuana, by including it in the auto insurance bill. However, now it looks as though a new bill, that addresses the workers compensation issue independently, will be introduced in the new session as an element of the general effort to provide medical marijuana law requirement clarification.
