H.R. 6199

[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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