Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Program Pilot Act
Medicare: Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Pilot
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process and is being reviewed by the House Committee on Ways and Means. No further actions are scheduled at this time. It is considered active as it was recently introduced.
Legislative Progress
This bill has strong support from both parties and addresses the expensive problem of hospital readmissions. However, many bills like this struggle to get a full vote in a crowded schedule.
Key Points
- This bill creates a six-year test program where at least 40 hospitals would provide specialized, home-delivered meals to certain Medicare patients after they leave the hospital. These meals are designed specifically to meet the patient's medical needs.
- To qualify, patients must have a diet-related illness like diabetes or heart failure, live at home, and need help with daily tasks like bathing or dressing.
- Eligible patients would receive at least two meals a day for 12 weeks. They would also get nutrition counseling from a professional to help them recover and stay out of the hospital.
- Patients would not have to pay any copays or deductibles for these meals. The program aims to lower overall healthcare costs by preventing expensive hospital readmissions.
- The program would be funded through the Medicare trust fund. It is designed to be budget-neutral by adjusting other hospital payments so it does not increase total spending.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H4374-4375)
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Program Pilot Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
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