Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

CBD Is Quietly Entering Medicare—But Only Through One Brand You Can Still Easily Buy

A new federal pilot is letting doctors provide CBD products to patients, but access is controlled, limited, and already locked behind a single supplier.

By Maha Haq | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

CBD is entering US healthcare through a nationwide Medicare program led by one brand, and doctors can hand CBD products to patients on the spot.

Kentucky-based Cornbread Hemp just locked in an exclusive deal for a new Medicare pilot, putting its products in front of about 68,000 healthcare providers. Starting in April, those providers can begin directly supplying CBD to patients through a controlled rollout. Patients in the program can receive up to $500 worth of CBD products per year, covered by the provider group—not Medicare itself—as part of the pilot.

CBD still isn’t something doctors can prescribe, but this goes a step beyond a casual recommendation. Instead of telling patients to go buy CBD on their own, providers can now hand them a vetted product for needs like pain relief or sleep support. And in this case, that supply is controlled by a single brand, Cornbread Hemp—a clear indication that this CBD brand is actually built to operate at that level, and bridge the gap between consumer and clinical use.

Cornbread Hemp’s products are readily available to consumers and they reflect the same standards required to participate in a pivotal program like this. 

The Types of CBD Products Being Used

The pilot sticks to few product formats limited........

© Vice