The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is set to authorize health insurance coverage for CBD under certain Medicare programs.
The proposed rule was just published in the Federal Register this week, according to Marijuana Moment, allowing Medicare Advantage providers to cover hemp-derived CBD products that comply with state and federal law. This potentially opens access to millions of seniors seeking alternative treatment options.
“I welcome the proposal from the CMS to allow coverage of cannabidiol (CBD) under Medicare,” says Jasmine Johnson, CEO of GŪD Essence. “This marks a meaningful shift in how our federal health system acknowledges cannabis-derived therapies — including CBD and the broader family of cannabinoids that come from the cannabis plant. Hemp is cannabis, and this recognition is an important step toward modernizing outdated distinctions that have held back research, access and responsible innovation.”
Reconsidering CBD for Alleged Health Benefits
This policy reversal comes after U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with advocates who promoted CBD coverage as “the most important senior health initiative of the century.” The change could unlock an estimated $64 billion in annual healthcare cost savings.
And while CMS implemented an earlier 2026 final rule in April specifically stipulating that marijuana, as well as CBD that can be derived from federally legal hemp, are ineligible for coverage under its Medicare Advantage program and other services, the agency is now revising that policy.
The proposed rule for 2027 would amend regulations, according to Marijuana Moment, which currently state that any “cannabis products” cannot be covered. The new policy would prevent coverage for only “cannabis products that are illegal under applicable state or federal law, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.”
“For millions of patients, especially seniors, this change could provide safer, affordable access to non-intoxicating cannabinoids as alternatives to opioids, sleep medications and other pharmaceuticals with far greater risks,” explains Johnson. “And it paves the way for future consideration of additional cannabinoids — such as CBG, CBN, CBC and THCV — all of which show promising therapeutic potential when produced responsibly and tested for safety.”
“We believe this proposal, if finalized, will provide seniors with new, non-opioid alternatives for wellness and palliative care, and will offer much-needed legitimacy and stability to the industry, especially after recent federal developments on the federal level,” adds Paula Savchenko, Esq., founding partner of Cannacore Group and PS Law Group. “The industry seeks to be regulated not banned to provide the benefits of the plant to those in need.”
The proposed rule would amend regulations, which currently state that any “cannabis products” cannot be covered by Medicare, according to Savchenko. The new policy would prevent coverage for only “cannabis products that are illegal under applicable state or federal law, including the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.”
Proposed Hemp Ban May Impact CBD
While this is a step forward in terms of getting patients the type of medical care they desire, the recent federal hemp law changes set to take effect in 2026 will significantly restrict THC concentrations. This could potentially limit the types of CBD products patients can access.
The way the law is written will permit such limited concentrations of THC that most growers and manufacturers say the idea of a CBD carve-out is infeasible. And for companies marketing such non-intoxicating products, that could spell doom—or at least force them to take on the significant added cost of extracting CBD isolates so as not to run afoul of the law, according to Marijuana Moment.
CMS states in the file they published that “hemp and hemp-derived cannabis products that meet the current 2018 definition are not federally controlled substances through November 11th, 2026, and those that meet the amended definition beginning on November 12th, 2026, will remain not federally controlled substances as of that date.”
“If such products comply with all other applicable federal laws, including any future changes to the definition of hemp and applicable provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), then they are not illegal under federal law,” it says.
While the revised language broadly discusses coverage eligibility for cannabis products legal at the state and federal level, the agency also explicitly notes that the rule would allow Medicare Advantage provides to “offer hulled hemp seed, hemp seed protein powder, and hemp seed oil” given that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already completed a review concluding that those materials are considered generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
