Requires Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare to provide medically tailored nutrition services for certain enrollees.

A2451

ASSEMBLY, No. 2451

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Quijano and Speight

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare to provide
medically tailored nutrition services for certain enrollees.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

concerning nutrition services for certain
Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare enrollees and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised
Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� As used in this act:

���� �Dietician�
shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of

P.L.2019, c.331 (C.45:16B-3).

���� �Licensed nutritionist� shall
have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of P.L.2019, c.331 (C.45:16B-3).

���� �Medicaid� means
the Medicaid program established pursuant to P.L.1968,
c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.).

���� �Medical
nutrition therapy� shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of
P.L.2019, c.331 (C.45:16B-3).

���� �Medically
tailored nutrition services� means a suite of services that are prescribed by a
medical professional and designed by a dietician or a licensed nutritionist in
order to prevent, manage, or treat an individual�s diet-related illness.�
Medically tailored nutrition services may include, but are not limited to, the
provision of medical nutrition therapy, medically tailored meals, medically
tailored food, and subsidies for the purchase of nutritious foods.

���� �Medically
tailored foods� means non-prepared, perishable and nonperishable grocery items
and produce, which are selected by a dietician or a licensed nutritionist as
part of a treatment plan to address an individual�s diagnosed medical
condition, and which are intended to provide partial or near-complete
nutrition.

���� �Medically
tailored meals� means ready-to-eat or fully prepared meals and snacks that are
designed by a dietician or a licensed nutritionist as part of a treatment plan
to address an individual�s diagnosed medical condition, and which are intended
to provide complete or near-complete nutrition.

���� �Near-complete
nutrition� means foods and meals that provide greater than 50 percent of an
individual�s daily caloric needs.

���� �NJ
FamilyCare� means
the program
established
pursuant to P.L.2005, c.156 (C.30:4J-8 et al.).

���� �Nutritious
food subsidies� means vouchers for free or discounted, nutrient-dense foods
which are intended to provide supplemental nutrition, and which may require
further preparation before consumption.

���� 2.��� a.� Notwithstanding the
provision of any law to the contrary, the Medicaid program and the NJ
FamilyCare program shall provide coverage for the following medically tailored
nutrition services, when prescribed by an enrollee�s licensed physician or
primary healthcare provider:

���� (1)�� medically tailored
meals, in a quantity of at least ten meals per week, for an enrollee diagnosed
with the following medical conditions:

���� (a)�� congestive heart
failure;

���� (b)�� type 2 diabetes;

���� (c)�� chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease; or

���� (d)�� renal disease;

���� (2)�� medically tailored
foods, in an amount sufficient to prepare 14 meals per week, for an enrollee
diagnosed with the following medical conditions:

���� (a)�� type 2 diabetes; or

���� (b)�� obesity;

���� (3)�� nutritious food
subsidies, in the amount of $25 per week or greater, for an enrollee diagnosed
with the following medical conditions:

���� (a)�� pre-diabetes;

���� (b)�� overweight; or

���� (c)�� hypertension; and

���� (4)�� medical nutrition
therapy, in an amount and duration to be determined by the prescribing
physician, for an enrollee diagnosed with the following medical conditions:

���� (a)�� diabetes; or

���� (b)�� renal disease.

���� b.��� All medically tailored
nutrition services, provided pursuant to paragraph a. of this section, shall be
designed and overseen
by a dietician or a licensed
nutritionist as part of a treatment plan to address an enrollee�s medical
conditions.

���� 3.���
The
Commissioner of Human Services shall apply for such federal waivers or state
plan amendments as are necessary to implement the provisions of this act and to
continue to secure federal financial participation for State expenditures under
the federal Medicaid program and the Children� s Health Insurance Program.

���� 4.��� The
Commissioner of Human Services, pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,�
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt such rules and regulations as
may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect
on the first day of the fourth month next
following the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Human Services
may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as may be
necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the
Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare programs to cover medically tailored nutrition
services, when prescribed by a medical professional and designed by a dietician
or a licensed nutritionist, in order address an enrollee�s diet-related medical
conditions.� It is the intent of the bill�s sponsor to provide enrollees with
the nutritional support necessary to help
prevent,
manage, or treat diet-related illness or medical conditions.�

���� The bill provides Medicaid and
NJ FamilyCare coverage for a minimum of 10 medically tailored meals per week
for enrollees who have been diagnosed with
c
ongestive
heart failure, type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or renal
disease.� Medically tailored meals are defined under the bill as being
ready-to-eat or fully prepared meals and snacks that are
designed by a dietician or a licensed nutritionist as part of a treatment plan
to address an individual�s diagnosed medical conditions, and which are intended
to provide complete or near-complete nutrition.�

���� The bill also requires
Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare coverage for medically tailored foods, in an amount
sufficient for the preparation of 14 meals per week, for enrollees diagnosed
with type 2 diabetes or obesity.� The bill defines medically tailored foods as
being
non-prepared, perishable and nonperishable
grocery items and produce, which are selected by a dietician or a licensed
nutritionist as part of a treatment plan, and which are intended to provide
partial or near-complete nutrition.

���� Under the bill, the Medicaid
and NJ FamilyCare programs are to provide subsidies for nutritious foods, in
the amount of $25 per week or greater, for enrollees who have been diagnosed
with pre-diabetes, overweight, or hypertension.�
The
food items that enrollees may purchase using these subsidies may require
further preparation before consumption.

���� The bill additionally provides
Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare coverage for medical nutrition therapy, in an amount
and for a duration to be determined by the prescribing physician, for certain
enrollees diagnosed with diabetes or renal disease.�

���� The bill further stipulates
that all medically tailored nutrition services provided under the Medicaid and
NJ FamilyCare programs be designed and managed
by a
dietician or a licensed nutritionist as part of a treatment plan to address an
enrollee�s medical condition.

���� Studies
show that dietary interventions, such as medically tailored meals, help reduce
the number of hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and nursing
home admissions for patients with diet-related illnesses.� According to data
from the Food is Medicine Coalition, a research and advocacy organization, six
months of dietary interventions can reduce an individual�s medical costs by 16
percent.

���� As
of February 2023, moreover, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, which administers the federal Medicaid and CHIP programs, has
approved Medicaid demonstration programs in Oregon, Massachusetts, and Arkansas
that provide healthy food and nutrition supports for certain enrollees.

���� According
to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only one in ten
adults consumes the recommended number of servings of fruit and vegetable, as
included in the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans.� Results of a study
conducted by researchers at Tufts University show that the majority of children
and youth between the ages of two and 19 years consume a diet that nutrition
researchers would describe as being of �poor quality,� while less than one
percent consume a diet that researchers would consider to be of �ideal
quality.�

���� A
diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein is associated
with a reduced risk of heart disease; conversely, a diet high in refined
carbohydrates, added sugars, alcohol, and processed meats is associated with a
higher risk for cardiovascular disease and early death.� Researchers have found
that highly processed foods, which are associated with increased caloric intake
and weight gain, comprise nearly 60 percent of the average consumer�s diet and
account for 90 percent of added sugar consumption.

���� It
is the sponsor�s belief that individuals living with particular primary and
comorbid health conditions may also have specific dietary needs that must be
met in order for these individuals to manage their health.