To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals 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
IntroducedMr. Booker (for himself, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Cassidy, and Ms. …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a 6-year pilot program called the Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Program under Medicare Part A. At least 40 hospitals will be selected to provide specially designed meals and nutrition counseling to patients after they are discharged from the hospital who have diet-related chronic diseases and are at high risk of being readmitted.
Who Benefits and How
Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diet-impacted conditions (such as diabetes, kidney disease, congestive heart failure, or COPD) benefit directly by receiving at least two medically tailored meals per day for a minimum of 12 weeks after hospital discharge, plus medical nutrition therapy, all without any copays or deductibles.
Selected hospitals benefit from new Medicare payments for providing these services, though the bill requires these costs to be offset by reducing other hospital payments under Medicare.
Registered dietitians and nutrition professionals gain expanded roles in hospital discharge planning and ongoing patient care, as hospitals must employ or contract with these professionals to provide screening and nutrition therapy.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Medicare Part A hospital reimbursements will be reduced to offset the program costs, meaning hospitals not participating in the program effectively subsidize those that do.
Participating hospitals must meet quality rating requirements (at least 3 stars on CMS quality ratings), submit regular data reports to the Secretary, and ensure they have the staffing and infrastructure to screen patients, prepare medically tailored meals, and deliver them to patients' homes.
The Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund bears the direct cost of funding this pilot program, with the Secretary required to reduce other hospital payments to offset these expenditures.
Key Provisions
- Establishes a 6-year pilot program beginning no later than 30 months after enactment, with at least 40 hospitals selected by June 30, 2027
- Requires hospitals to screen inpatients using validated tools during discharge planning to identify "qualified individuals" with diet-impacted diseases who are at high risk of readmission
- Mandates at least 2 medically tailored meals per day for at least 12 weeks post-discharge, designed to meet two-thirds of daily nutritional needs and accommodate medical, cultural, and religious dietary requirements
- Provides medical nutrition therapy alongside meal delivery for 12 weeks to 1 year
- Requires intermediate evaluation within 3 years and final evaluation within 8 years, measuring health outcomes, readmission rates, and cost-effectiveness compared to non-participating beneficiaries
- Eliminates all cost-sharing (deductibles, copays, coinsurance) for program participants
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
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.
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