A Massachusetts legislator has filed a bill that seeks to cap the cost of MDMA therapy. Recent research into the potential effects of psychedelics has found that the substances can treat various health conditions with minor side effects. They seem to be especially effective against mental health issues such as major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which often fail to respond to conventional treatment.
With most Americans reporting that the country is in the midst of a major mental health crisis, the psychedelic renaissance couldn’t have come at a better time. However, due to extremely limited availability, psychedelic-assisted therapies are only accessible to clinical study participants and people who can afford to pay the thousands of dollars it costs to travel to regions that offer the treatment.
Introduced by Republican representative Nick Boldyga, the new Massachusetts bill seeks to increase access to MDMA-assisted therapy by capping the cost of treatment. Bill HD2137 will first reschedule MDMA (ecstasy) to allow access if the federal government approves using the drug to treat PTSD. Additionally, the measure will cap the price of such treatments at $5,000 to ensure they are affordable.
While $5,000 may already be too expensive for many people, MAPS plans to charge at least $15,000 for every MDMA treatment if it is granted exclusive selling rights. In comparison, more than 50% of Americans can’t cover a $500 medical expense without incurring debt.
Psychedelic-assisted therapies tend to be pricey for several reasons; the first is the scarcity of centers offering this treatment. Due to the length of psychedelic trips, patients often require more than one trained therapist to guide them through the session, increasing the costs further.
The Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative has even admitted that the exorbitant out-of-pocket costs for MDMA therapy will lock out many lower-income patients even if they are covered by insurance. New England Veterans for Plant Medicine founder and disabled Marine veteran Mike Botelho said that America has “countless PTSD-afflicted veterans” struggling to stay financially afloat. He noted that it was “sickening” that MAPS’ MDMA treatment would only be available to the “richest of the rich.” MAPS will secure a majority monopoly if it obtains exclusive selling rights, allowing it to charge super-high prices for psychedelic-assisted therapies.
This is already causing therapists to leave practices that mostly serve middle- and low-income communities at a time when Massachusetts has a crippling therapist shortage. Colombia Klenner, communications director of Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, says middle- and lower-income individuals can avoid these exorbitant costs by safely learning how to use psychedelics at home.
Needless to say, a portion of the issues that psychedelics startups such as Delic Holdings Corp. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) are undoubtedly occupying themselves with is the matter of affordability and accessibility. As more medicines are brought to market, prices could naturally go down over time.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Delic Holdings Corp. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/DELCF
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