The Ohio legislature, like 23 legislatures before them, intend to pass a "Medical" Marijuana law soon. There is nothing "Medical" about marijuana, by the way, as I already blogged two weeks ago.
What happens when thousands of primary care office appointments are taken up by patients wanting approval for their "Medical" marijuana?
Disaster! Primary care physicians are pretty much operating with full schedules. There is no room for thousands of marijuana seekers. Assuming that those visits won't be covered by "medical" insurance, and since they involve a controlled substance, they are longer visits. They will be billed at a separate charge, paid at the time of the visit (how desperate might someone be to get their marijuana?). The OARRS report must be consulted, etc.
A cash business line for these special patients will generate lots more revenue than Medicare and Medicaid, without the hassles and onerous "quality" initiatives and penalties. Thousands of Medicare and Medicaid patients will be suddenly without a physician or without the ability to get timely appointments. More physicians will see the "Medical" marijuana law as an opportunity to dump Medicare/Medicaid and help our marijuana friends for more financial stability.
Hassle Free Marijuana patients may start to look more appealling than Hasselful government funded patients.
What do you think?
I would want nothing to do with a physician that would dump Medicare/Medicaid patients for his marijuana friends. I hope marijuana is not legalized in Ohio. We have enough problems here as is.
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