The American Council of Cannabis Medicine (ACCM) has announced the launch of a new nationwide initiative with major insurers, healthcare systems, and associations to expand affordable access to medically guided cannabis treatment across the United States.
The programme, unveiled on 21 October 2025, is designed to integrate medical cannabis into mainstream healthcare by improving insurance coverage, establishing referral networks, and standardising care delivery.
Through new agreements with leading insurance providers, the ACCM initiative aims to make medical cannabis benefits available to individuals and employers, including small businesses and Fortune 500 companies.
Todd Houston, Senior Vice President at IronHealth, said that ‘expanding insurance coverage for medical cannabis is a vital step forward in making this therapeutic option accessible to more Americans’.
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More than 400 associations and wellness organisations have also joined the Elevated States programme, which promotes education and safe participation in state-legal medical cannabis programmes. Scott Rancie, Vice President at ACCM, said the collaboration ‘gives members trusted, state-program pathways to explore medical cannabis in a responsible, legal way’.
Healthcare systems will gain access to ACCM’s Distinguished Physician Referral Network, a system that allows hospitals and providers to refer patients to vetted cannabis programmes while maintaining compliance with Medicare and Medicaid.
According to Dr Michael Butler, ACCM’s National Medical Committee Chair, the network ‘offers hospitals and providers a private, patient-centred solution’ that supports patient care without jeopardising reimbursements.
The initiative is underpinned by ACCM’s Next Frontier platform, which sets technical and operational standards to unify patient, physician, and dispensary experiences.
Technology partner EM2P2 developed the infrastructure to ensure scalability and compliance.
Gennaro Luce, EM2P2’s Chief Executive Officer, described the platform as ‘the digital backbone for a national medical-cannabis platform connecting patients to the products and services they need to optimise wellness outcomes’.
Founded in 2016 as a Capitol Hill working group, ACCM is a 501(c)(4) organisation representing stakeholders across the medical cannabis sector, including healthcare professionals, researchers, insurers, and patient advocates.
The Elevated States programme positions medical cannabis to advance from an alternative therapy toward a recognised component of US healthcare.
