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President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order that calls for the use of psychedelic drugs to treat serious mental illness. The move could push employer health plans to include psychedelic drugs in their prescription formularies for individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder and substance abuse disorder.
The order directs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to expedite applications for formal approval of psychedelic drugs. In addition, some psychedelic drugs currently in clinical trials, including ibogaine, a hallucinogen derived from an African shrub, must be made available to a broader range of patients. To achieve these directives, the order directs HHS to offer $50 million in matching grants to states that test the use of psychedelic drugs to treat mental illness.
Furthermore, the executive order instructs the FDA to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the private sector to increase clinical trials and other testing to assess the effectiveness of experimental psychedelic therapies.
Some states and employers already provide benefits for some types of psychedelic drugs for use in the treatment of mental illness. For instance, Oregon has allowed medicinal use of psilocybin-producing mushrooms since 2020. The costs of psychedelics vary from $4,500 to $10,000 for ibogaine in Mexico to much lower prices to access ketamine and psilocybin.
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