Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague and friend, Chairman McGovern, for yielding me this time.

Mr. Chair, I rise to support Chairman McGovern's amendment.

As members of the Food is Medicine working group, one of our priorities has been highlighting the benefits of medically-tailored meals.

Many of us know the importance of a nutritious, balanced diet, but we also know that many face significant hurdles in finding, buying, and preparing healthy food.

For people with chronic and acute disease, these challenges can lead to major health complications and major hospital bills. That is where medically-tailored meals come in.

Study after study show that participants with access to medically- tailored meal programs had fewer hospital inpatient admissions and fewer emergency department visits.

That is a big potential cost savings for programs like Medicare and Medicaid, but more importantly, it is a critical tool for keeping vulnerable Americans, like our seniors, healthy and independent, which is exactly in line with the goals of the Older Americans Act.

The gentleman's amendment would allow more seniors to access medically-tailored meals through OAA programs. I think this is an important step towards strengthening health outcomes and quality of life, and I urge its passage.

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