MIAMI.– U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday from Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami a new federal initiative to condition Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals that are not willing to align their food purchases with national dietary guidelines.
According to Kennedy, this is a requirement designed to replace ultra-processed food with healthy options, with the ultimate goal of accelerating patient recovery and reducing medical readmissions.
Ultra-processed foods
During an event organized by the think tank America First Policy Institute, the secretary criticized the current offering of medical centers and rejected the provision of gelatin, sugary cereals and low-quality meats to sick people.
Kennedy argued that the best medical technology and top doctors “are insufficient” if institutions ignore quality food as the most fundamental tool of modern medicine.
This position was supported by the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, who lamented the secondary treatment of hospital nutrition, with poor preparations and lacking the nutrients necessary for complete healing.
Florida, health model
The state of Florida immediately adopted this new directive from the Trump administration through Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, with the announcement of the expansion to health care facilities of a program created last year by the president of the Florida Senate to connect food banks with local farmers and ranchers.
The initiative will provide fresh, seasonal produce to hospital facilities to reduce waste and support the state’s producers, establishing the region as the first to replicate the federal government’s approach following other recent actions by local Republicans to eliminate fluoride from drinking water and lift vaccination mandates.
Direct impact on patients
For her part, the director of Health Policy at the America First Policy Institute, Hannah Anderson, described the measure as the first significant implementation of the new food pyramid for children with greater clinical severity.
Children undergoing treatment for cancer or debilitating diseases will now receive real proteins, whole milk and vitamins from 100% local crops.
