--- title: The DOJ is scrutinizing mental health startup Cerebral - The Hustle description: Cerebral prescribed stimulants to patients online for ADHD, but the government is now investigating its practices. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1135406385-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-11T224940.797Z.webp --- # The DOJ is scrutinizing mental health startup Cerebral ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: May 12, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Many Americans have turned to virtual health care services, but one is now the subject of a federal investigation. ![The DOJ is scrutinizing mental health startup Cerebral](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1135406385-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-11T224940.797Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1135406385-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-11T224940.797Z.webp) Cerebral is a **$4.8B** online mental health platform. Its [membership tiers](https://cerebral.com/) include virtual therapy only, or therapy combined with prescription medication. Convenient, but now the DOJ is investigating if some prescriptions violated the [Controlled Substances Act](https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/csa), [per](https://www.businessinsider.com/doj-investigating-mental-health-startup-cerebral-2022-5) *Business* *Insider*. #### **What’s the issue?** Amid the pandemic, the federal government [began allowing](https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/coronavirus.html) online prescriptions for certain Schedule II drugs. That opened the door for Cerebral to prescribe stimulants like Adderall for patients diagnosed with ADHD. Cerebral hasn’t been formally accused of any wrongdoing yet, but: - **In March,** *The Wall Street Journal* [reported](https://www.wsj.com/articles/startups-make-it-easier-to-get-adhd-drugs-that-made-some-workers-anxious-11648267205?mod=article_inline) that some providers felt pressured to prescribe stimulants, and that the 30-minute virtual visits were too short to diagnose someone with ADHD. - **In April,** a former Cerebral exec [sued](https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-cerebral-executive-alleges-unsafe-prescribing-practices-in-lawsuit-11651205105) the startup, alleging that it prescribed stimulants as a way to retain patients and that he was fired when he tried to flag concerns. The company has denied these allegations, is cooperating with the federal investigation, and has paused prescriptions for new ADHD patients. #### **Why it matters** Many Americans run into roadblocks when seeking care. A 2021 survey from the National Alliance on Mental Illness [found](https://nami.org/Support-Education/Publications-Reports/Survey-Reports/2021-Mood-Disorder-Survey) that, in addition to cost barriers, 48% of respondents weren’t sure if they were eligible for care, while 39% didn’t know how to access services. Even among the insured, [systems](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/08/23/1030430464/mental-health-parity-therapy-high-cost) can be difficult to navigate — many providers aren’t in-network, and others have long wait times. Startups can play an important role in streamlining access — but only if they’re safe. Topics: [Health And Wellness](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/health-and-wellness) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Cold plunges and testosterone parties](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/579308696-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-testosterone_20231002233122.webp) ### Cold plunges and testosterone parties - ![Weight loss drugs and the pre-existing condition of being American](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1098552693-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Pharma_20230914213443.webp) ### Weight loss drugs and the pre-existing condition of being American - ![What’s kratom, and why is it in trouble?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/740401164-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-kratom_20230725221327.webp) ### What’s kratom, and why is it in trouble? - ![Is wellness the new airline miles?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1368662680-httpsthe-hustle.hubspot.comhubfsDaily20Newsletter20ImagesMay2012202023ness.webp) ### Is wellness the new airline miles? - ![Can games protect our brains?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/407368755-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-20T223649.443Z-scaled.webp) ### Can games protect our brains? - ![WFH? What about… work from gym?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1151869202-HS-News-Brief_2022-08-17T232801.881Z.webp) ### WFH? What about… work from gym? - ![The psychedelic mushroom biz is simmering](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1135744458-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-25T003558.611Z-scaled.webp) ### The psychedelic mushroom biz is simmering - ![Why are women’s health ads getting rejected?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1613977164-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-09T231610.838Z.webp) ### Why are women’s health ads getting rejected? - ![This startup re-engineered the tampon](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1123397776-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-31T225954.255Z.webp) ### This startup re-engineered the tampon - ![Are wearables the future of health care?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1991298903-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-10T004611.616Z.webp) ### Are wearables the future of health care? Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "datePublished" : "2022-05-12T05:50:26.000Z", "headline" : "The DOJ is scrutinizing mental health startup Cerebral", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1135406385-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-11T224940.797Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/05122022-cerebral", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T20:05:34+0000", "datePublished" : "2022-05-12T05:50:26+0000", "headline" : "The DOJ is scrutinizing mental health startup Cerebral", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1135406385-HS-News-Brief_2022-05-11T224940.797Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```