U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) this week unveiled bipartisan legislation that would authorize a Medicare pilot program to ensure nutritious meals reach medically vulnerable senior citizens in their homes, while also providing data toward building a more resilient and cost-effective U.S. healthcare system.
“This innovative, commonsense solution would strengthen Medicare and help older Americans thrive,” Rep. Walorski said, “especially in these challenging times.”
The congresswoman is an original cosponsor of the Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Demonstration Pilot Act of 2020, H.R. 6774, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), which would require the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a demonstration program that would assess the effects of a hospital providing medically tailored, home-delivered meals to qualified individuals, according to the congressional record bill summary.
“Our bill hopes to show that by providing medically tailored meals to vulnerable seniors, we can lower hospital admissions, improve outcomes, and save money,” said Rep. McGovern. “It’s time to transform America’s sick-care system into a health-care system, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important bipartisan bill.”
Medicare Parts A and B currently do not provide coverage for such meals. If enacted, H.R. 6774 would direct the HHS Secretary to conduct a three-year demonstration pilot program to ensure recently hospitalized Medicare enrollees, who have conditions such as congestive heart failure, diabetes, and kidney disease, receive at least two home-delivered meals per day, including for any dependents under the age of 18 who reside in the household.
“Good nutrition can play a key role in improving health, especially for those living with a chronic illness,” said Rep. Walorski. “Getting nutritious, medically tailored meals to vulnerable seniors in their homes would not only lead to better health outcomes but also reduce health care costs in the long-term.”
The stand-alone pilot program proposed under the bill also could involve programs such as Meals on Wheels, which provides nutritious, ready-to-eat, home-delivered meals for America’s homebound seniors, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Walorski’s office.