Bill Receives Approval from House Ways and Means Committee
The movement to expand access to medically tailored meals (MTMs) has reached an important milestone: The Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Program Pilot Act, H.R. 5439, was approved unanimously by the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means on September 16.
Reaching this stage reflects years of education, advocacy and bipartisan collaboration by Food is Medicine Coalition members, community partners, healthcare leaders and advocates across the country.
With unanimous approval from the House Ways and Means Committee, FIMC will continue working with bipartisan congressional champions and partners across the country to build support for the bill’s passage.
H.R. 5439 was introduced by Representatives Jim McGovern, Nicole Malliotakis, Dwight Evans, Brian Fitzpatrick and Chellie Pingree. The bill’s bipartisan support reflects growing recognition that medically tailored meals can improve health and quality of life while reducing avoidable healthcare utilization.
Bringing MTMs to Original Medicare
If enacted, H.R. 5439 would establish a six-year pilot program within Original Medicare, where MTMs are not currently a covered benefit.
Under the legislation, at least 40 eligible hospitals would be selected to participate. Qualified individuals leaving the hospital would receive at least two medically tailored, home-delivered meals—or the equivalent—each day. The meals would meet at least two-thirds of participants’ daily nutritional needs and respond to their medical, cultural and dietary requirements.
Participants would also have access to medical nutrition therapy. Together, these services would support people living with severe, complex and chronic conditions who face limitations that make shopping or preparing meals difficult.
The pilot would allow the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to evaluate health outcomes, hospital and post-acute care admissions, Medicare expenditures, patient and caregiver experiences, and changes in the total cost of care. The legislation requires the program to operate in a budget-neutral manner.
Building on a strong body of evidence
This legislation is grounded in a substantial and growing body of evidence demonstrating the value of MTMs.
Research has associated medically tailored meals with fewer hospital admissions and emergency department visits, better management of chronic conditions, improved medication adherence, and enhanced quality of life. One national modeling study estimated that providing MTMs to eligible individuals could prevent approximately 1.6 million hospitalizations and save $13.6 billion in healthcare costs during the first year alone.
Statewide demonstrations in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Maryland have further shown that Food is Medicine interventions can reduce healthcare utilization and costs, with some of the greatest benefits occurring among patients with the most complex medical needs.
Years of advocacy brought the bill to this moment
The committee’s consideration of H.R. 5439 follows sustained advocacy from across the Food is Medicine movement.
In January 2026, more than 100 organizations joined FIMC in urging congressional leaders to advance the legislation. In June, more than 250 advocates participated in Food is Medicine Advocacy Day, meeting with congressional offices and making the MTM Bill a central policy priority.
FIMC members have also spent decades building, refining and delivering the medically tailored meal model in communities across the country. Their experience demonstrates that successful programs require more than nutritious food. They depend on individualized nutrition care, trusted community relationships and services designed around the medical and personal needs of each client.
FIMC’s Medically Tailored Meal Accreditation Criteria and Requirements help codify these principles and provide a quality framework as medically tailored meals become more deeply integrated into healthcare.
A significant step forward
Congressional consideration does not happen in isolation. It is made possible by the clients who share their experiences, the providers who demonstrate the intervention’s impact, the researchers who build the evidence base and the advocates who help policymakers understand why access matters.
This approval by the House Ways and Means Committee is an accomplishment for the entire Food is Medicine community. It shows that medically tailored meals have moved beyond proving their promise and are increasingly being considered as part of the nation’s healthcare policy.
FIMC thanks the bill’s sponsors, the members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the many advocates who helped bring medically tailored meals to this important point in the legislative process.
We will continue working toward a future in which people living with severe, complex and chronic illnesses can access the medically tailored nutrition they need to heal and experience a better quality of life.