What is the Food as Medicine Act?

December 5, 2025 •

3 min read

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, over 90% of the $4.5 trillion the U.S. spends annually on healthcare goes toward treating chronic conditions, many of which are closely linked to diet. Addressing this, the Food as Medicine Act is proposed legislation aimed at funding and expanding programs that integrate nutrition into healthcare to combat these diet-related illnesses.

Quick Summary

The Food as Medicine Act is a proposed bill intended to provide federal funding for state-level Food is Medicine programs. These programs offer medically supportive food and nutritional interventions, like tailored meals or produce prescriptions, to manage and prevent chronic diseases for individuals and reduce overall healthcare costs.

Key Points

Legislation Goal: The Food as Medicine Act proposes federal funding for programs that use targeted food interventions to prevent and manage chronic diseases.
Specific Interventions: The act supports medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, and nutritional counseling for individuals with diet-related chronic conditions.
Healthcare Integration: It aims to embed nutritional support directly within the healthcare system, unlike general food assistance programs.
Potential Benefits: Expected outcomes include reduced healthcare costs, improved patient health, and stronger local food systems.
Implementation Challenges: Key hurdles include securing sustained funding, building program infrastructure, and collecting robust evidence of cost-effectiveness.
Funding Mechanisms: Proposed funding includes federal grants and leveraging existing insurance pathways like Medicaid waivers and Medicare Advantage benefits.
Policy Shift: The act represents a strategic shift toward a proactive, prevention-oriented healthcare approach to address public health crises.

Understanding the Goals of the Food as Medicine Act

Proposed legislation, such as the National Food as Medicine Program Act of 2024 (H.R. 9631) and the Fueling Optimal Outcomes through Diet (FOOD) for Health Act, seeks to formally establish and broaden programs that use food as a therapeutic approach. The primary aim is to transition healthcare from a model focused on treating illness to one emphasizing prevention, by targeting diet-related chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

The act plans to achieve this through grants and funding for state and community-level Food is Medicine (FIM) initiatives. Unlike standard food assistance, FIM programs focus on individuals with specific diagnosed chronic conditions, providing evidence-based nutritional support as a component of their clinical care.

Key Components of Proposed Food as Medicine Legislation

Common elements in proposed Food as Medicine acts include:

Grant Programs: Establishing funding avenues, often through HHS and USDA, to assist states and organizations in implementing FIM programs.
Medicaid Waivers: Encouraging the use of Medicaid Section 1115 waivers to cover food and nutrition services.
Technical Assistance: Offering support to organizations, including community groups and healthcare providers, to develop and scale FIM interventions.
Data and Evaluation: Requiring data collection to assess clinical effectiveness, cost-savings, and program impact.
Stakeholder Collaboration: Promoting partnerships among healthcare systems, community organizations, and food suppliers for integrated programs.

Types of Interventions Supported by the Act

The legislation supports medically supportive food interventions tailored to individual health needs. These include:

Medically Tailored Meals (MTM): Home-delivered meals designed for specific chronic conditions.
Medically Tailored Groceries: Providing healthy groceries aligned with a patient's dietary requirements.
Produce Prescriptions (PRx): Healthcare providers prescribing fruits and vegetables, redeemable at retailers.
Nutrition Counseling: Integrating nutritional therapy and education by registered dietitians into care plans.

Impact on the Healthcare and Food Systems

Implementing a Food as Medicine Act could significantly affect healthcare and food sectors. By embedding food and nutrition in medical treatment, it aims to reduce healthcare costs by improving chronic condition management and decreasing hospitalizations. It could also bolster local food systems by supporting suppliers to FIM programs. For individuals, it promises better health outcomes and a reduction in diet-related health disparities, particularly in underserved communities.

Comparison of Federal Food Programs


Feature	Food as Medicine (FIM) Programs	Traditional Food Assistance (e.g., SNAP)
Primary Goal	Therapeutic intervention to treat or manage specific chronic diseases.	Address general food insecurity for individuals with limited income.
Target Population	Individuals with specific diagnosed diet-related chronic conditions.	Broad eligibility based on income and household size.
Service Provider	Integrated with the healthcare system (hospitals, clinics) and community organizations.	Administered by government agencies and redeemed at authorized retailers.
Funding Source	Reimbursement through health insurance (e.g., Medicaid waivers, Medicare Advantage) and government grants.	Federal and state funding through traditional social service channels.
Intervention Type	Medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, medically tailored groceries.	General food purchases at eligible stores.

Challenges and Considerations

The Food as Medicine Act faces challenges in ensuring its success. Securing consistent, long-term funding is a major hurdle. Building infrastructure for coordination between healthcare, insurers, and food suppliers is complex. The evidence base requires further strengthening to consistently show effectiveness and cost-savings across different populations. Regulatory issues regarding reimbursement for food and nutrition services also need addressing. The bill aims to tackle these issues to create a stable framework.

The Path Forward for a Food as Medicine Act

The integration of food and nutrition into healthcare is progressing. The Food as Medicine Act is a key step towards a system that addresses the root causes of chronic disease. By outlining funding, implementation, and evaluation, it can help move FIM from a concept to a standard practice. Focusing on evidence-based interventions and collaboration is crucial for a sustainable model that improves public health and reduces healthcare burdens.

Conclusion

The Food as Medicine Act is a legislative initiative designed to transform healthcare by using food therapeutically. It proposes a framework to fund medically tailored food interventions, incorporate nutrition into patient care, and assess program effectiveness. Although challenges with funding and implementation exist, the legislation represents a significant move towards preventing and managing chronic diseases through diet, potentially improving health outcomes and reducing costs nationally. Its success relies on ongoing collaboration and data collection to demonstrate its value and establish a sustainable, integrated system.

Frequently Asked Questions

The act is intended to fund medically tailored meal programs, produce prescription initiatives, and medically tailored grocery services. These interventions provide specific, healthy food to individuals with diagnosed chronic health conditions.

Unlike broad-based food assistance programs like SNAP and WIC, the Food as Medicine Act focuses specifically on targeted, therapeutic food interventions prescribed by a healthcare professional for individuals with particular chronic diseases.

No, the act is not designed to cover the cost of all groceries. It focuses on reimbursing or subsidizing the cost of medically supportive food and nutrition interventions that are part of a patient's specific clinical care plan.

Eligibility would primarily be determined by a patient's diagnosis of a diet-related chronic condition. The programs are meant for individuals whose nutritional needs are tied to a specific clinical treatment plan.

The Food as Medicine Act refers to a category of proposed legislation, such as the National Food as Medicine Program Act of 2024 (H.R. 9631), not a law that has been passed. The status of any given bill is subject to the legislative process.

By proactively addressing chronic diseases through nutrition, proponents argue that Food as Medicine programs can reduce long-term healthcare costs associated with hospitalizations and managing complex conditions.

Challenges include ensuring consistent, long-term funding beyond pilot projects, navigating complex reimbursement regulations, and demonstrating conclusive, cost-effective outcomes across diverse populations.

By targeting diet-related chronic conditions and providing access to nutritious food, the act can address health disparities that disproportionately affect low-income and under-resourced populations.