Patient looking for CINICO to cover cannabis oil

| 16/07/2017

I have a condition that I think may be helped by cannabis oil. However, my health insurance is covered by CINICO and I don’t think any Health Services Authority doctors prescribe it. If a private doctor gives me a prescription, will CINICO pay for it?


Auntie’s answer: The good news for you is that CINICO will pay for cannabis oil, and there really is no accompanying bad news, except that you have to go through an approval process. In addition, the coverage depends on the policy you hold.

A CINICO official explained that the insurer would cover up to the plan limits, which would be $320 per year under the basic Standard Health Insurance Contract (known as SHIC) and 100% for civil servants, seafarers and indigents.

But first the CINICO member has to obtain a prescription for the cannabis oil and the approval of the chief medical officer (CMO), who will decide if it is medically necessary. Your doctor needs to make a request for the oil to the CMO. The CINICO representative stressed that a determination of whether the cannabis oil prescription is accepted is done on a “case-by-case basis”. Once approval is given, you can take the prescription to the pharmacy.

To date, one person covered by CINICO has received two allotments of the oil for a set period of time. The CMO approved the prescription, which was filled by a private pharmacy.

In addition, as you may already know, a local hospital recently introduced cannabis oil here (see Hospital begins dispensing cannabis oil). It is also available at the Foster’s pharmacy.

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Category: Ask Auntie, Health Insurance Questions, Medical Questions

Comments (8)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    This oil is fantastic for migraines and nerve pain. Interesting that CINICO covers it and AETNA won’t!

  2. Anonymous says:

    If CINICO can pay for breast implants for the elite few, why not pay for cannabis oil that can help so many.

  3. Anonymous says:

    If it can help cure, treat illnesses, completely natural and easy to reproduce then, you bet it will be controlled by the goverment. GREED.

  4. Anonymous says:

    A friend in Canada has finally tried Cannabis oil after a lifetine of chronic pain from a very serious injury. I used to joke he had enough prescription painkillers in his pocket to kill three of us. Long story short… it works. He is functioning and sleeping through the night and some very positive side effects related to tissue damage.

  5. Oh Ya says:

    I think they should cover. This is because their is no cost equal to, or worth, a life being saved.

  6. AlanP says:

    something that would heal you is so hard to obtain, something that would kill you is given out as candy- benzos, opiates, antibiotics, statins, to name just few.