Allowing and/or assisting residents in the use of medical marijuana which has been legalized by the state but remains illegal according to federal law may put the nursing home at risk for losing its license to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement
Compliance Perspective – Medical Marijuana
Policies/Procedures: The Compliance and Ethics Officer with the Administrator and the Risk Manager will review policies and procedures involving the use of state approved medical marijuana programs by residents and conflicting federal law restrictions.
Training: The Compliance and Ethics Officer with the Director of Nursing will ensure that staff are trained specifically about handling, storing, and administering medical marijuana if the facility’s policies and procedures support providing medical marijuana.
Audit: The Compliance and Ethics Officer with the Director of Nursing should personally conduct an audit of residents using medical marijuana to determine the level of use and how the medical marijuana is being obtained by residents who are not able to leave the facility.
Recent changes to Iowa’s laws regarding the use of medical marijuana are being welcomed by many with open arms. Individuals seeking to use marijuana for personal medical conditions, and others who care for individuals where the use of medical marijuana may be sought, face a contradictory position due to the conflict between federal and state laws.
Along with concerns involving use of legal medical marijuana for residents, nursing homes are not required to allow workers to use the marijuana-derived medications, even if the workers have the new state cannabis cards. Employers are given legal immunity by the new bill if they take action against an employee based on drug test results.
Nursing home leaders are also concerned about whether staff members can legally assist residents in taking medical marijuana products, or how to obtain medical marijuana for residents who are unable to leave the facility. The reason behind their concern is rooted in the fact that nursing homes are regulated by federal laws that still consider marijuana an illegal substance. A nursing home’s licensure to receive reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid is controlled by the federal government.
A spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that CMS has no specific regulations addressing medical marijuana. She said her office is not aware of any nursing homes that have been penalized for participating in their state’s medical marijuana program.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Iowa Health Care Association, representing nursing homes within the state, expects that very few nursing homes would bar residents from possessing medical marijuana products if the new program allows their use.
