HHS and CMS Direct Hospitals to Align Patient Meals with Federal Dietary Guidelines

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Secretary Robert F. , is working to extend the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to hospital settings. This effort aims to incorporate federal nutrition standards into patient meals.

Hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs may need to adhere to these guidelines to retain funding. On March 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), headed by Dr. Mehmet Oz, distributed a memo to hospitals.

The memo directs facilities to align meal offerings with the Dietary Guidelines by limiting ultraprocessed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined carbohydrates, and added sugars. Kennedy has described the memo as functioning similarly to a federal mandate due to its funding implications.

menus often feature convenience foods such as pasta, processed deli meats, packaged snacks, sugary desserts, cereals, juice, and soda, according to Dr.

Hamid Khan, chief medical officer of Jorie AI, a healthcare revenue service. Khan noted that while some hospitals have introduced healthier options, menus generally emphasize low cost, long shelf life, and ease of preparation. These priorities can result in high levels of sugar, sodium, and processed ingredients, with limited inclusion of high-quality proteins, fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.

Khan reported instances where patients have ordered meals from services like Grubhub, DoorDash, or Uber Eats due to dissatisfaction with hospital options. He stated that many hospital meals fail to provide sufficient nutrients for healing, muscle maintenance, immunity, and recovery.

This is particularly relevant for elderly patients and those with chronic illnesses, who face increased risks of muscle loss, weakness, delayed healing, infections, and readmissions.