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MMJ Competitive Assessment
Major insurers won’t cover medical marijuana space for at least the next 5 years, leaving Novus the market share of a national consumer base of close to 23 million patients
MMJ is not approved by the FDA, and that approval depends on clinical studies conducted within the U.S. that measure efficacy, safety, effectiveness and side effects. If cannabis was legalized by the federal government today, it would take 3 years of studies for the FDA to catch up on the medicinal benefits of medical marijuana
Major carriers don’t want to jeopardize their lucrative federal agreements with Medicare and Medicaid that can reach into the billions of dollars annually
The barriers of entry for other competitors who have come into the healthcare insurance (risk and non risk) have not made an impact that Novus has made primarily due to restrictions on marketing and advertising of cannabis in respective states
Despite the DEA’s no action to re-schedule cannabis, it has little or no effect on the state laws. In fact it will increase the price on marijuana meds to the consumer giving Novus the advantage over recreational classification