Main roads
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Trump administration threatens to withhold federal aid if hospitals and nursing homes ignore new nutrition guidelines
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Opponents say the initiative does not take into account the needs of individual patients
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A cut in federal funding could put hospitals at risk
WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2026 (NewsDay News) – Complaints about hospital food are certainly nothing new, and Jell-O and fruit juice are often the jokes involved. But the Trump administration recently upped the ante.
It urges the public to report hospitals and nursing homes that serve sugary drinks, diet shakes or meals that it says don’t meet last year’s USDA dietary guidelines, and officials have promised to withhold millions of dollars in federal funding if violations occur.
Initiative from the Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. has sparked a backlash from some doctors and health care providers who say it doesn’t take into account the unique dietary needs of patients and is anathema to Republicans who have long taken an anti-regulation stance.
It’s also unclear whether HHS has the regulatory authority to carry out its threat without going through a formal rulemaking process, lawyers and nutritionists say.
“Most of this is political theater, HUJCHAT does not have the power to do much,” he saidKevin Klattis a nutritionist and research scientist who is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. “Also, if it’s to the point where you want to control people’s choices, well, you look a bit fascist.”
Agencysent notificationsKennedy said at a press event that they are being asked to align their food purchases with the administration’s dietary guidelines for 2025-30 to ensure continued compliance with Medicaid and Medicare payments.
“We will adapt all hospitals in the country to good food,” he said, describing the guidelines as “essentially onefederal mandate.”
In a about XKennedy’s top adviser Callie means it wrote: “If a hospital serves sugary drinks to patients, they are not meeting state standards and putting their reimbursements at risk.
She added: “If you see patients being given sugary drinks, please post the information below or report it to CMS.”
The comment includes a link to the HHS website with a toll-free number to report complaints that are commonly used for medical bills. Withholding federal funding from hospitals is one of the most powerful tools for regulators, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rarely use.
Means warned that even offering liquid nutritional products like Patient Trust could put hospitals at risk. “They need to replace or lose compensation. Please let them know if you see it,” he told one X user.
Medicare and Medicaid are mergingthe biggest payershospital expenses.
An HHS spokeswoman said the warning comes in the form of an updated “Terms of Participation” issued by CMS to ensure hospital patients’ nutrition meets dietary guidelines. Andrew Nixon said
“We applaud the many hospitals that have committed to improving their food offerings, and we expect every hospital system to do the same,” he said.
The media did not immediately respond to requests for comment KFF Health Newsinstead, shortly after contacting him, he posted on X: “‘Trump Incomprehensibility Syndrome’ has led Democrats to defend the medical importance of mass-produced soda and delicious food for sick Americans.” In the text with KFF Health Newshe said, “Here’s a quote if you want. I have no comment.”
Still, some administration officials said they would not rule out suspending federal funding, a poorly thought-out step that could jeopardize the hospital’s ability to stay open.
Carrots and sticks
HHS can withhold or threaten federal funding if hospitals violate mandatory minimum health and safety standards set by the agency. The standards state that hospitals must protect patient privacy and practice infection control.
The standards refer to hospital food, but they do not explicitly refer to 2025-30food guidelinesestablished by the USDA.
Rather, the standards require that “the patient’s individual nutritional needs must be met in accordance with recognized dietary practices” and list other requirements for hospitals, such as access to a qualified dietitian.
“CMS has never interpreted this requirement as mandating adherence to any set of dietary guidelines,” he said.brieffrom the law firmAkin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld.
The CMS memo indicates that the agency is taking a “significant step” to incorporate dietary guidelines “into the hospital’s regulatory framework without adopting new regulations.”
Some lawyers say the hospitals are likely complying because they are loathe to be crossed by the federal government and want to avoid legal trouble or Kennedy’s enforcement action.
“He has no legal basis to do this, but hospitals and nursing homes cannot completely ignore it because it indicates possible coercive practices,” he said.Nicholas Bagleyprofessor of law at the University of Michigan.
If federal funding were retained, hospitals could always go to court to challenge HHS’s mandate.
“When the agency goes to the hospital and says:We will charge you for thisthe hospital can claim and saySo, nothing requires us to fry our potatoes in lardor whatever,” Bagley said.
For hospitals that want to comply, the agency’s memo provides examples of what patients should and shouldn’t do.
Food as medicine
What the manual calls “savings”: sugar-sweetened beverages or juice. And “work”: water, sweet tea, milk or coffee. Recommended dishes include grilled salmon with quinoa or bean-based dishes with leafy greens.
Some nutritionists welcomed the focus on hospital food for patients. Marion Nestle, public health advocate and molecular biologist, praised the initiative, saying, “These sound amazing!” in aposton your blog,Food policy.
Other health care leaders and doctors pushed back, noting that hospitalized patients often have more individualized nutritional needs that may not meet federal dietary recommendations.
Klatt, a nutritionist at the University of Toronto, said that “for a stroke patient who has difficulty swallowing, salmon and quinoa are the worst thing for them. They risk trying it.”
Hospitals that neglect to provide certain standards of care, such as protein shakes to treat malnutrition or unhealthy weight loss, can open themselves up to potential legal liability.
80 percent of elderly malnourished patients gained weight and improved muscle mass on nutritional supplements like Ensure.clinical trial resultspublished Hospital foodpeer-reviewed scientific journal.
Abbott, whoproducesmakes a range of products, including shakes, for people who “may be malnourished due to medical treatments such as chemotherapy and may not be getting the calories they need because they don’t have a great appetite,” a company spokeswoman said. John Kowal said in the statement.
“It’s always a struggle to get people to eat. Losing weight in the hospital increases the risk of death,” he said. Mary Talley Bowdensleep medicine specialist. She hasare often favoredwith America Healthy Again reasons butcriticized the administration’s call to report violationson X, posted: “Give me a break Callie. Hospital snitch line for soda?”
“It’s a little cruel,” he said in an interview.
The focus on hospital nutrition came in late March as part of Kennedy’s MAHA initiative, in which he highlighted changes to federal dietary guidelines that emphasize protein and healthy fats while avoiding processed foods.
Kennedy has relied heavily on his work to change eating habits, which fits the MAHA’s gestalt, and polls with both Democratic and Republican voters. Overall, 86% of registered voters said that every American family should have easier access to fresh fruits and vegetables.according to the surveypublished in September by Navigator Research.
More information
Realfood.gov has the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030.
About News KFF Health
KFF Health News is a national news center that produces in-depth journalism on health issues and is one of the main operating programs of KFF – an independent source of health policy research, polling and journalism.
What does this mean for you?
Federal dietary guidelines can cause some confusion in hospitals and nursing homes. Tell your nurse or doctor if you have any concerns.
