PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Following a Commonwealth Court ruling, workers compensation insurance in Pennsylvania must cover medical marijuana costs.
Worker’s comp attorney Jenifer Kaufman says she has noticed a trend among the people she represents.
“Since medical marijuana has come on the scene in Pennsylvania, more and more workers are using it to deal with chronic pain issues, to get off of opioids,” she said.
But she says there is one major setback to treating people with medical marijuana: “It can be expensive — especially for people who are using it who tend to be on fixed incomes and have been on worker’s comp for a number of years.”
But she recently won a case in Pa. Commonwealth Court that makes it the law of the land that employers must pay for medical marijuana prescriptions for people on workers comp.
Paul Sheetz was injured on the job in the 1970s, leading to medical issues that followed him for decades, according to his attorney in a workman’s comp case against his employer, Firestone Tire and Rubber.
“He had been very withdrawn, living in the house, suffering from pretty extreme pain from multiple failed back surgeries, and suffering with the side effects of opiate usage,” Kaufman said.
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But, she says, he did not give up hope.
“With the help of his physician, he was able to completely wean himself off oxytocin.”
Kaufman says medical marijuana played a big part in Sheetz’s recovery, but the insurance company would not pay for it.
“The carrier would not reimburse him for this, even though it was saving them a fortune in terms of what the opioids cost and the drug testing that goes along with that,” Kaufman said.
She says that’s when she stepped in and took the company to court.
After a years-long battle, Sheetz won, setting a new precedent for all Pennsylvania residents.
“Commonwealth Court found that treatment reasonable and necessary under the workers comp act. Medical marijuana should not be penalized,” Kaufman said.
“This will really allow more injured workers with lifelong chronic injuries, for those who are struggling with opioids — which, in many cases, is the fault of the carrier.”
Sheetz, who lived in Berks County, died during the trial, but “he had a chance for the last years of his life to have a much better quality of life.”
Firestone has not responded to a request for comment. Kaufman expects the ruling to be appealed to the state’s Supreme Court.