To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Demonstration Program to test a payment and service delivery model under part A of Medicare to improve clinical health outcomes and reduce the rate of readmissions of certain individuals.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
No timeline data available
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a 4-year pilot program within Medicare to test whether providing specially designed home-delivered meals to high-risk hospital patients after discharge can improve their health outcomes and reduce costly hospital readmissions. The program would serve Medicare beneficiaries who have chronic conditions like diabetes, kidney disease, heart failure, or COPD and who are at high risk of being readmitted to the hospital.
Who Benefits and How
Medicare patients with diet-impacted chronic diseases benefit by receiving at least 2 medically tailored meals per day for a minimum of 12 weeks after hospital discharge, along with nutrition therapy - all without any out-of-pocket costs. Participating hospitals benefit from Medicare payments for providing these services and could potentially reduce their readmission rates (which currently trigger financial penalties). Registered dietitians and nutrition professionals gain new employment opportunities designing meal plans and providing therapy. Home-delivered meal service providers and food preparation companies could see significant revenue growth from the new contracts.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal taxpayers bear the cost through "such sums as are necessary" appropriations to fund the demonstration program. CMS faces administrative burdens in selecting hospitals, developing screening tools, and conducting program evaluations. Participating hospitals must comply with staffing requirements, patient screening every 12 weeks, data submission, and meal delivery standards. Hospitals with quality ratings below 3 stars or with Medicare integrity issues are excluded from participation.
Key Provisions
- HHS must select at least 20 hospitals by January 1, 2024, with priority given to rural and underserved areas
- Eligible patients must have diet-impacted diseases, be limited in at least 2 daily living activities, and meet high readmission risk criteria
- Hospitals must provide at least 2 medically tailored meals daily for 12+ weeks plus nutrition therapy
- No deductibles, copays, or cost-sharing for patients receiving these services
- HHS must report to Congress at 3 years (intermediate) and 6 years (final evaluation)
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a 4-year Medicare demonstration program to test whether providing medically tailored home-delivered meals to high-risk patients after hospital discharge improves health outcomes and reduces hospital readmissions.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Use demonstration program to test cost-effectiveness of nutritional intervention before potential broader Medicare coverage expansion"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Medicare Part A beneficiaries with diet-impacted chronic diseases at high risk of readmission
- Hospitals participating in the demonstration (receive payments, may reduce readmission penalties)
- Medical nutrition therapy providers and registered dietitians
- Home-delivered meal service providers contracted by hospitals
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal government/taxpayers (funding demonstration program with 'such sums as are necessary')
- CMS (administrative burden of program implementation, hospital selection, evaluation)
- Participating hospitals (compliance and data submission requirements)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A subsection (d) hospital that submits an application, has averaged at least 3 stars for overall hospital quality rating for the 2 most recent fiscal years, and is not subject to overpayment return requirements or Medicare integrity program actions
Has the meaning given in section 1861(vv)(1) of the Social Security Act - nutritional diagnostic, therapy, and counseling services for the purpose of disease management
A meal that is designed by a registered dietitian or nutrition professional for the treatment plan of the qualified individual
An individual entitled to Medicare Part A benefits who has a diet-impacted disease (kidney disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, COPD, etc.), lives at home at discharge, is not eligible for extended care/home health services, has not elected hospice care, is limited in at least 2 activities of daily living, and meets high-risk readmission criteria
Has the meaning given in section 1861(vv)(2) of the Social Security Act
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