{"id":36638,"date":"2026-05-04T17:24:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/?p=36638"},"modified":"2026-05-04T17:24:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:24:05","slug":"hhs-healthy-food-agenda-puts-hospitals-on-notice-about-patients-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/?p=36638","title":{"rendered":"HHS\u2019 Healthy Food Agenda Puts Hospitals on Notice About Patients\u2019 Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Complaints about hospital food are certainly not new, and Jell-O and fruit juice are often the butt of related jokes. But the Trump administration has recently upped the ante.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-sidebar alignright \">\n<\/aside>\n<p>It is urging the public to report hospitals and nursing homes that serve sugary drinks, nutrition shakes, or meals that it says don\u2019t meet dietary guidelines established last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with officials vowing to withhold millions of dollars in federal funding if violations occur.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is spurring backlash from some doctors and medical providers who say it fails to account for patients\u2019 unique dietary needs and is anathema to Republicans who have long embraced an anti-regulatory stance.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also not clear that HHS has the regulatory authority to enforce its threat without going through a formal rulemaking process, lawyers and dietitians say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of this is political theater. HHS doesn\u2019t have the power to do much,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/nutrisci.med.utoronto.ca\/faculty\/kevin-klatt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kevin Klatt<\/a>, a dietitian and research scientist who is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. \u201cAlso, if it\u2019s to the point that you\u2019re trying to control people\u2019s choices, well, you look a little fascist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/files\/document\/qssam-26-03-hospital-cah-original-release-2026-03-30.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sent notices<\/a> to hospitals asking them to align their food purchases with the administration\u2019s 2025-30 dietary guidelines to ensure continued eligibility for Medicaid and Medicare payments, Kennedy said at a March 30 press event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are going to bring all the hospitals in the country in line with good food,\u201d he said, describing the instructions as \u201cessentially a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HHSResponse\/status\/2038704019724526057\">federal mandate<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a hospital is serving patients sugary drinks, they are out of compliance with government standards and are putting their reimbursements in jeopardy,\u201d top Kennedy adviser Calley Means <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/calleymeans\/status\/2039331090859426167\">posted on X.<\/a> \u201cIf you see patients being served sugary drinks, please post information below or let CMS know.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block wp-block-kff-shared-newsletter  wp-block-kff-shared-newsletter--background-white\" data-type=\"kff-shared\/newsletter\" data-align=\"center\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-newsletter__container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-newsletter__content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-newsletter__text\">\n<h4 class=\"newsletter__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\tEmail Sign-Up\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n<p class=\"newsletter__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to KFF Health News&#8217; free Morning Briefing.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The comment included a link to an HHS webpage with a toll-free number for reporting complaints typically used for medical bills. Withholding federal funding from hospitals is one of the most extreme enforcement tools available to regulators, one the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services has seldom deployed.<\/p>\n<p>Even serving liquid nutrition products like Ensure to patients could put hospitals in jeopardy, Means warned. \u201cThey need to change or lose reimbursement. Please report them if you see it,\u201d he told an X user.<\/p>\n<p>Medicare and Medicaid, combined, are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/key-facts-about-hospitals\/?entry=national-hospital-spending-medicare-and-medicaid-spending\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">largest payers<\/a> of hospital expenditures.<\/p>\n<p>The notice came in the form of a \u201cConditions of Participation\u201d update released by CMS to ensure hospital patients\u2019 food adheres to the dietary guidelines, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said. \u201cWe commend the many hospitals who have made commitments to improve their food offerings, and expect every hospital system to do so,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Means did not respond directly to requests for comment from KFF Health News, instead posting on X shortly after he was contacted: \u201c\u2018Trump Derangement Syndrome\u2019 has led Democrats to defend the medical importance of mass-serving soda and junk food to American patients.\u201d In a text with KFF Health News, he said, \u201cThat\u2019s to cite if you want. I don\u2019t have a comment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, some administration officials have made it clear they will not shy away from halting federal funding, a rarely taken step that can imperil the ability of a hospital to remain open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-heading-5-font-size\"><strong>A Carrot and a Stick<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>HHS can withhold or threaten federal funding if hospitals violate mandatory minimum health and safety standards set by the agency. The standards stipulate that hospitals must protect patient privacy, for example, and uphold infection control.<\/p>\n<p>The standards do address hospital food, but they don\u2019t explicitly refer to the 2025-30<a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.realfood.gov\/DGA.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> dietary guidelines<\/a> established by the USDA.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, the standards require that \u201cindividual patient nutritional needs must be met in accordance with recognized dietary practices,\u201d and list other requirements for hospitals, such as having access to a qualified dietitian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCMS has never before interpreted this requirement as mandating adherence to any set of dietary guidelines,\u201d according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jdsupra.com\/legalnews\/from-guidance-to-the-galley-cms-urges-7396146\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 13 brief<\/a> from law firm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jdsupra.com\/profile\/Akin_Gump_docs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Akin Gump Strauss Hauer &amp; Feld<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The CMS memo shows the agency is taking the \u201cnotable step\u201d to incorporate the dietary guidelines \u201cinto the hospital regulatory framework without new rulemaking,\u201d according to the brief.<\/p>\n<p>Hospitals are likely to comply because they are loath to cross the federal government and want to avoid a legal tussle or enforcement action by Kennedy, some lawyers say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have a legal basis to do this, but hospitals and nursing homes can\u2019t afford to ignore it altogether because of what it signals about potential enforcement action,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/michigan.law.umich.edu\/faculty-and-scholarship\/our-faculty\/nicholas-bagley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nicholas Bagley<\/a>, a University of Michigan law professor.<\/p>\n<p>If federal funding were withheld, hospitals could always sue to try and challenge HHS\u2019 authority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the agency goes to the hospital and says, <em>We\u2019re going to take away your money for this<\/em>, the hospital can sue and say, <em>Look, nothing requires us to fry our fries in beef tallow<\/em> or whatever,\u201d Bagley said.<\/p>\n<p>For hospitals looking to comply, the agency\u2019s memo provides examples of what should and shouldn\u2019t be served to patients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-heading-5-font-size\"><strong>Food as Medicine<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What the guidance calls \u201cdon\u2019ts\u201d: sugar-sweetened beverages or juice. And \u201cdo\u2019s\u201d: water, unsweetened tea, milk, or coffee. Meals suggested in the memo include grilled salmon with quinoa or bean-based entrees with leafy greens.<\/p>\n<p>Some nutritionists welcomed the focus on hospital food for patients. Marion Nestle, a public health advocate and molecular biologist, lauded the initiative, saying, \u201cThese sound terrific!\u201d in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foodpolitics.com\/2026\/04\/28401\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 8 post<\/a> on her blog, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foodpolitics.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Food Politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Other health leaders and doctors pushed back, noting hospitalized patients often have more individualized nutrition needs that may not conform to federal dietary recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>For \u201ca patient struggling to swallow from just having a stroke, salmon and quinoa is the worst thing for them. They\u2019re going to risk aspirating on it,\u201d said Klatt, the University of Toronto dietitian.<\/p>\n<p>Hospitals that neglect to provide certain standards of care, such as protein shakes to treat malnutrition or an unhealthy weight loss, could open themselves up to possible legal liability. Eighty percent of malnourished elderly patients gained weight and improved muscle mass on nutritional supplements such as Ensure, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/20694290\/#:~:text=This%20information%20does%20not%20constitute%20medical%20advice,female%20and%2031%25%20(n%20=%2077)%20male\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">results of a clinical trial<\/a> published in Nutrici\u00f3n Hospitalaria, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.<\/p>\n<p>Abbott, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ensure.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">manufactures Ensure<\/a>, makes a range of products including shakes for people who \u201ccould be malnourished due to medical treatments, such as chemotherapy, and not be getting the calories they need because they don\u2019t have much of an appetite,\u201d company spokesperson John Koval said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s always a struggle to get people to eat. Losing weight in the hospital raises the risk of mortality,\u201d said Mary Talley Bowden, a <a href=\"https:\/\/breathemd.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sleep medicine specialist<\/a>, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/02\/12\/texas-paxton-medical-board-mary-bowden-ivermectin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">often sided<\/a> with Make America Healthy Again causes but <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MaryBowdenMD\/status\/2039347635564274167\">criticized the administration\u2019s call to report violations<\/a> on X, posting: \u201cGive me a break Calley. A hospital snitch line for soda?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a little tyrannical,\u201d she said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>The focus on hospital food came in late March as part of Kennedy\u2019s MAHA initiative, in which he has touted changes to federal dietary guidelines that emphasize protein and healthy fats while eschewing processed foods.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy has leaned heavily into his work on changing eating habits, which fits into the MAHA gestalt and polls well with both Democratic and Republican voters. Eighty-six percent of registered voters surveyed said it should be easier for every American family to access fresh fruits and vegetables, <a href=\"https:\/\/navigatorresearch.org\/maha-americans-and-health-and-wellness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to a poll<\/a> released in September by Navigator Research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/health-industry\/hhs-healthy-hospital-food-patient-dietary-guidelines-backlash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Complaints about hospital food are certainly not new, and Jell-O and fruit juice are often the butt of related jokes. But the Trump administration has recently upped the ante. It is urging the public to report hospitals and nursing homes that serve sugary drinks, nutrition shakes, or meals that it says don\u2019t meet dietary guidelines [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-conditions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36639,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36638\/revisions\/36639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}