Entourage Health Signs Four New Union Groups to its Starseed Medicinal Program
Plan administrator Union Benefits adds four union groups and six new southwestern Ontario locals, providing access to medical cannabis as an insured benefit
Toronto, Canada, August 30, 2022 – Entourage Health Corp. (TSX-V:ENTG) (OTCQX:ETRGF) (FSE:4WE) (“Entourage” or the “Company”), a Canadian producer and distributor of award-winning cannabis products, is pleased to announce its medical subsidiary Starseed Medicinal (“Starseed”) has added four new union groups to its full-service, proprietary medical cannabis program, in partnership with leading benefits provider Union Benefits – the administrator of union group benefits to over 12,000 members.
The medical cannabis plan, which goes into effect September 1, 2022, provides eligible union members and their dependents access to practitioners specializing in prescribing medical cannabis as an insured benefit. Additionally, Starseed is a unique platform with no co-pay or out-of-pocket insurance costs and is currently recognized as one of the only medical cannabis programs in the world to offer access to direct billing.
“We congratulate and proudly welcome our four newest member unions and their locals to our full-service Starseed medical platform. Together, we are removing the barriers to access medical cannabis as an alternative therapy for members and benefits provider Union Benefits, looking to responsibly educate and provide treatment options to patients for a myriad of indications,” said George Scorsis, CEO and Executive Chair, Entourage. “Our simplified and personalized treatment plans are curated alongside our award-winning healthcare experts who carefully ensure patients have access to a portfolio of over 45 trusted medical cannabis products including, soft-gel capsules, oils, soft-chews, patches, compounds (balms), vapes, and dried flower. As a result of these widely accepted therapeutic alternatives, coupled with a seamless reimbursement process, we now have over 10 union groups, five insurance providers, and 24 clinics signed to our Starseed platform.”
“With this partnership we are providing our members with access to the most innovative medical cannabis products, treatments plans and trusted practitioners in the industry, representing a progressive step forward in our evolving service model for over 12,000 members and their dependents,” said Rob Andrews, CEO and President, Union Benefits. “Our goal as a third party administrator is to ensure our union families are provided with access to affordable, quality-driven benefit options to meet their health and wellness journeys. Removing barriers and ease of payment is an important factor for expanding coverage to new therapies and we’re proud to be offering this to our members.”
All eligible affiliate members can now immediately access Starseed’s medical cannabis program by registering as patients. The Starseed program is built around a system that brings together clinical practitioners who specialize in chronic pain management, opioid cessation, insomnia and mental health therapies. Its medical marketplace is built around a revolutionary Canadian virtual pharmacy system that takes online orders and has the ability to intuitively complete the claims management process seamlessly with insurance carriers. More recently, Starseed expanded access to same-day delivery with Pineapple Express, increased service offerings by partnering with HelloMD’s virtual telehealth network, and now provides tailored patient treatment plans, plus innovative new products hosted on a virtual education platform.
About Entourage Health Corp.
Entourage Health Corp. is the publicly traded parent Company of Entourage Brands Corp. (formerly WeedMD RX Inc.) and CannTx Life Sciences Inc., licence holders producing and distributing cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates a state-of-the-art hybrid greenhouse and processing facility located on 158-acres in Strathroy, ON; a fully licensed 26,000 sq. ft. Aylmer, ON processing facility, specializing in cannabis extraction; and a micropropagation, tissue culture and genetics centre-of-excellence in Guelph, Ontario. With its Starseed Medicinal medical-centric brand, Entourage has expanded its multi-channeled distribution strategy. Starseed’s industry-first, exclusive partnership with LiUNA, the largest construction union in Canada, along with employers and over 10 union groups complements Entourage’s direct sales to medical patients. Entourage’s elite adult-use product portfolio includes Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis and Royal City Cannabis Co.– sold across eight provincial distribution agencies. The Company also maintains strategic relationships in the seniors’ market and supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart. It is the exclusive Canadian producer and distributor of award-winning U.S.-based wellness brand Mary’s Medicinals sold in both medical and adult-use channels. Under a collaboration with The Boston Beer Company subsidiary, Entourage is also the exclusive distributor of cannabis-infused beverages ‘TeaPot’ in Canada, which launched in summer 2022, starting in select provinces.
Follow Entourage and its brands on LinkedIn
Twitter:
Entourage, Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis, Starseed & Royal City Cannabis Co.
Instagram:
Entourage, Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis, Starseed & Royal City Cannabis Co.
For additional information, or investor or media inquiries:
Marianella delaBarrera
SVP, Communications & Corporate Affairs
416-897-6644
marianella@entouragecorp.com
investor@entouragecorp.com
media@entouragecorp.com
Forward Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation which are based upon Entourage's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy.
The forward-looking information in this news release is based upon the expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and views of future events which management believes to be reasonable in the circumstances. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the cannabis industry in Canada generally; the ability of Entourage to implement its business strategies; the COVID-19 pandemic; competition; crop failure; and other risks.
Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, Entourage does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Entourage to predict all such factors. When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in Entourage’s disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The risk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information.
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE