H.R. 8355 — Accountable Produce is Medicine Act of 2026

This section expresses the sense of Congress that diet-related chronic diseases drive U.S. health care costs; that evidence-based food is medicine interventions—such as medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries, produce prescriptions, and nutrition counseling—can improve health outcomes and reduce expenditures; and that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation should incorporate such interventions, as appropriate, into models tested under section 1115A of the Social Security Act.

This section requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test, beginning no later than 180 days after enactment, the Accountable Produce is Medicine Bundled Payment Model (APIM Model) under Medicare (Title XVIII), Medicaid (Title XIX), or CHIP (Title XXI). (As background, CMMI tests innovative payment and service delivery models to reduce program spending while preserving or enhancing quality of care for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries.) Under the APIM Model, which must operate for at least 5 years, CMMI must select at least 5 eligible programs—prioritizing those providing fresh produce and nutrient-dense plant-based foods—for participation of at least 2 years each. Selected programs must (1) screen physician, hospital, or provider referrals to identify eligible individuals (i.e., Medicare Part A beneficiaries, Part B enrollees, or certain Medicaid/CHIP enrollees with chronic diseases); (2) furnish specified APIM services without cost-sharing for 1 year (or until disenrollment for non-engagement), including personalized health risk assessments, care coordination, telehealth and remote monitoring for chronic diseases, lifestyle modification programs (e.g., nutrition counseling by registered dietitians, exercise, smoking cessation), and healthy nutrient-dense foods (preferring local or regenerative agriculture sources); (3) track services and engagement, collect quarterly health data (e.g., weight, blood pressure, blood glucose), report end-of-year cost savings data to CMMI, and reassess eligibility; and (4) receive bundled payments, with potential financial risk required beginning in year 3. (Thus, the model aims to improve chronic disease outcomes through food-as-medicine interventions while testing bundled payments for accountability.)