Yesterday, Nature published a new collaborative commentary by Heidi M. Blanck and Ruth Petersen, of the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Katie Garfield of the Center for Health Law and Policy at Harvard Law School, Dariush Mozaffarian of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and our Executive Director, Alissa Wassung, of the Food Is Medicine Coalition. The paper posits that the twin concepts of nutrition security and a greater focus on food is medicine interventions can help us build a more efficient and equitable healthcare system, by increasing access to nourishing foods across the lifespan.
Read the full paper here.
Following on the heels of the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, as well as the Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, the paper draws further attention to the power and promise of life-saving interventions like medically tailored meals and the need to more fully incorporate them into our healthcare system to see the benefits on a population level.
FIMC was pleased that the Biden-Harris administration stood by its commitment to advance health equity in the National Strategy by highlighting the importance of access to medically tailored meals in our nationwide effort to address diet-related illness and treatment. The Strategy supported legislative pilots to test covering medically tailored meals for individuals in traditional Medicare who are experiencing diet-related health conditions and promises increased guidance and authority from CMS for states wishing to use Medicaid section 1115 demonstration projects to test the expansion of coverage for food is medicine interventions. We know that the increased attention and resources will further our existing efforts in this space. FIMC agencies have been at the forefront of ongoing efforts to expand access to MTM and other food is medicine interventions over the past decade, and we look forward to continuing this critical work on a variety of fronts to build a more resilient and patient-centered healthcare system.
