[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6199 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6199
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand the
availability of medical nutrition therapy services under the Medicare
program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 20, 2025
Ms. Kelly of Illinois (for herself, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia, Mr.
Veasey, Mrs. Miller of West Virginia, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Casten, Ms.
Tlaib, Ms. Barragan, and Mr. Lieu) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition
to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand the
availability of medical nutrition therapy services under the Medicare
program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Over two-thirds of Medicare fee-for-service
beneficiaries have 2 or more chronic conditions, many of which
can be prevented, delayed, treated, or managed through
nutrition.
(2) Individuals from many racial and ethnic minority
backgrounds are more likely to be diagnosed with chronic
diseases such as diabetes, prediabetes, chronic kidney disease,
end-stage renal disease, and obesity.
(3) Coverage for medical nutrition therapy is only
available to Medicare Part B beneficiaries with diabetes or a
renal disease, despite medical nutrition therapy being part of
the standard of care, in clinical guidelines, and medically
necessary for many more chronic conditions.
(4) Medical nutrition therapy has been shown to be a cost-
effective component of treatment for obesity, diabetes,
hypertension, dyslipidemia, HIV infection, unintended weight
loss in older adults, and other chronic conditions.
SEC. 3. EXPANDING THE AVAILABILITY OF MEDICAL NUTRITION THERAPY
SERVICES UNDER THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395x) is amended--
(1) in subsection (s)(2)(V), by striking ``in the case of''
and all that follows through ``organizations''; and
(2) in subsection (vv)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``disease management'' and
inserting ``the prevention, management, or
treatment of a disease or condition specified
in paragraph (4)'';
(ii) by striking ``by a physician'' and all
that follows through the period at the end and
inserting the following: ``by--
``(A) a physician (as defined in subsection (r)(1));
``(B) a physician assistant (as defined in subsection
(aa)(5));
``(C) a nurse practitioner (as defined in subsection
(aa)(5));
``(D) a clinical nurse specialist (as defined in subsection
(aa)(5)(B)); or
``(E) in the case of such services furnished to manage such
a disease or condition that is an eating disorder, a clinical
psychologist (as defined by the Secretary).''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ``Such term shall not include any
such services furnished to an individual for
the prevention, management, or treatment of a
renal disease if such individual is receiving
maintenance dialysis for which payment is made
under section 1881.''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(4) For purposes of paragraph (1), the diseases and
conditions specified in this paragraph are the following:
``(A) Diabetes.
``(B) Prediabetes.
``(C) A renal disease.
``(D) Obesity (as defined for purposes of
subsection (yy)(2)(C) or as otherwise defined by the
Secretary).
``(E) Hypertension.
``(F) Dyslipidemia.
``(G) Malnutrition.
``(H) Eating disorders.
``(I) Cancer.
``(J) Gastrointestinal diseases, including Celiac
disease.
``(K) HIV.
``(L) AIDS.
``(M) Cardiovascular disease.
``(N) Any other disease or condition--
``(i) specified by the Secretary relating
to unintentional weight loss;
``(ii) for which the Secretary determines
the services described in paragraph (1) to be
medically necessary and appropriate for the
prevention, management, or treatment of such
disease or condition, consistent with any
applicable recommendations of the United States
Preventive Services Task Force; or
``(iii) for which the Secretary determines
the services described in paragraph (1) are
medically necessary, consistent either with
protocols established by registered dietitian
or nutrition professional organizations or with
accepted clinical guidelines identified by the
Secretary.''.
(b) Exclusion Modification.--Section 1862(a)(1) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (O), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (P), by striking the semicolon at the
end and inserting ``, and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(Q) in the case of medical nutrition therapy
services (as defined in section 1861(vv)), which are
not furnished for the prevention, management, or
treatment of a disease or condition specified in
paragraph (4) of such section;''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to items and services furnished in years beginning
on or after the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
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