This bill establishes a six-year pilot program under Medicare Part A that provides medically tailored home-delivered meals to hospitalized patients at high risk of readmission. At least 40 hospitals across the country will be selected to participate, offering qualifying patients meals customized to their medical conditions (such as diabetes, heart failure, or kidney disease) along with nutrition counseling, all at no out-of-pocket cost. To qualify, patients must have certain functional limitations, live at home after discharge, and have diet-related medical conditions. The program will be funded from Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, with hospital payments offset by corresponding reductions in other Medicare reimbursements to ensure budget neutrality. The legislation requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to evaluate the program's impact on hospital readmissions and healthcare costs, with reports due to Congress three years and eight years after implementation begins.
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