Today, the Academy co-hosted a virtual advocacy day with the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists on two priority issues: the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act and the Expanding Access to Diabetes Self-Management Training Act. More than 60 advocates met with three dozen key congressional offices to discuss the impact these two bills would have on the nutrition and dietetics profession.
Passage of the MNT Act would:
- Expand Medicare coverage for MNT to beneficiaries with chronic diseases including prediabetes, obesity, hypertension, cancer, malnutrition and more
- Authorize nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists and psychologists to refer their patients for MNT
- Promote health equity for racial and ethnic minority communities that have a higher burden of chronic disease
Passage of the DSMT Act would:
- Expand access by permitting a wider array of providers to refer Medicare beneficiaries to DSMT
- Improve equitable access to DSMT by removing patient cost sharing
- Increase utilization by eliminating the one-year expiration date for the initial 10 hours of DSMT coverage
- Allow DSMT and MNT to be furnished and billed for on the same day
Academy members interested in adding their voice to key policy and advocacy efforts are encouraged to join the monthly affinity group meetings.
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