Nutrition CARE Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Nutrition CARE Act expands Medicare Part B medical nutrition therapy. Beginning January 1, 2026, Medicare beneficiaries with an eating disorder, as defined by the Secretary using the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, would qualify for medical nutrition therapy. Covered services must be furnished by a registered dietitian or nutrition professional and referred by a physician, psychologist, or other state-authorized mental health professional. The bill sets minimum service amounts for eating-disorder management: 13 hours during the first year, including a one-hour initial assessment and 12 hours of reassessment and intervention, and 4 hours in each subsequent year subject to reasonable limits set by the Secretary.
Who Benefits and How
Medicare beneficiaries with eating disorders benefit because outpatient medical nutrition therapy becomes a covered Medicare service. Older adults with eating disorders benefit from earlier nutrition intervention for conditions with serious cardiac, metabolic, gastric, bone, and suicide risks. Registered dietitians and nutrition professionals benefit from a new Medicare-covered service category for eating-disorder treatment. Psychologists and authorized mental health professionals benefit because their referrals can trigger covered nutrition therapy for eating-disorder management.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Medicare Part B bears new benefit costs for at least 13 hours of first-year and 4 hours of subsequent-year nutrition therapy for qualifying beneficiaries. CMS must define covered eating disorders using the DSM, update billing rules, set reasonable service limits, and administer referrals. Medicare Administrative Contractors must process claims for the new eating-disorder medical nutrition therapy category. Federal taxpayers finance the added Medicare spending for covered nutrition therapy services.
Key Provisions
- Expands Medicare medical nutrition therapy eligibility to beneficiaries with eating disorders beginning January 1, 2026.
- Requires services to be furnished by registered dietitians or nutrition professionals after referral by a physician, psychologist, or authorized mental health professional.
- Provides at least 13 hours of covered therapy in the first year, including a one-hour initial assessment and 12 hours of reassessment and intervention.
- Provides 4 hours in each subsequent year, subject to reasonable limits set by the Secretary.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Adds Medicare medical nutrition therapy coverage for beneficiaries with eating disorders beginning January 1, 2026, including at least 13 hours in the first year and 4 hours in later years by referral from a physician, psychologist, or authorized mental health professional.
Key Policy Areas
Medicare, Mental Health, Nutrition
Primary Purpose
Adds Medicare medical nutrition therapy coverage for beneficiaries with eating disorders beginning January 1, 2026, including at least 13 hours in the first year and 4 hours in later years by referral from a physician, psychologist, or authorized mental health professional.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Medicare beneficiaries with eating disorders
- Older adults with eating disorders
- Registered dietitians
- Psychologists making referrals
Identified Costs
- Medicare Part B
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Medicare Administrative Contractors
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Chu (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Tonko, and Mr. …
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in …
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Medicare beneficiaries with eating disorders
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology