Booker, Cassidy, Smith, Marshall Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve the Health of Seniors

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) introduced a bipartisan bill to provide access to medically-tailored meals to treat acute diet-related illnesses in seniors. Medically-tailored meals are designed by dieticians to manage or reverse severe diet-related illnesses and have shown promising results with reducing patients' hospitalizations and lowering healthcare spending. The Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Program Pilot Act would pilot Medicare coverage of this treatment, to address the crisis of chronic disease in seniors. U.S. Representatives James McGovern (D-MA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Dwight Evans (D-PA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced companion legislation in the House.

"Over half of American adults have one or more diet-related chronic diseases, which is driving unprecedented sickness and healthcare spending. We know that food is medicine, and it's time to make sure our healthcare systems are taking advantage of the power of nutritious food to treat illness," said Senator Booker. "Medically tailored meals are an evidence-based, cost-effective treatment that should be scaled up. This pilot program will help us understand how integrating targeted nutrition treatment into Medicare can improve health outcomes for seniors and reduce taxpayer expense."

"America is facing a crisis of malnutrition, and too often our seniors bear the brunt of that," said Senator Smith. " For our seniors and our neighbors living with disabilities, getting to the grocery store or even just making dinner can be a real challenge. This bill improves access to individualized meals so that Medicare recipients have the food they need to stay healthy, avoid unnecessary hospital visits, and live with dignity and independence."

"As longtime advocates for policy initiatives that address the connection between nutrition and health, FIMC is deeply appreciative of Representatives McGovern, Malliotakis, Pingree, Fitzpatrick and Evans and Senators Booker, Marshall, Cassidy and Smith for their introduction of the Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Program Pilot Act. This program will not only address the gap in access to medically tailored meals for older Americans and people with disabilities, but it will provide the data we need to make our health care system more efficient and patient centered. We look forward to working with these bipartisan champions, the Administration, and legislators on both sides of the aisle to advance this important bill," said Alissa Wassung, Executive Director, Food Is Medicine Coalition.

"Older Americans face an urgent crisis of diet-related disease-sapping their well-being, vitality, and retirement savings. It's time to reimagine our approach to health, and to recall the wisdom of the past, by integrating nourishing food into our national healthcare programs," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Cardiologist and Director of the Food Is Medicine Institute, Tufts University.

Last week, U.S. Senators Booker, Cassidy, Smith, and Marshall wrote a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, urging the agency to establish standardized billing codes for Medically Tailored Meals (MTMs) to help streamline reimbursements.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.