The Tarrant Area Food Bank has joined the Feeding Texas network of 20
food banks and a coalition of more than 70 partner organizations to announce our
commitment to advancing “Food is Medicine” solutions in the 2025 Texas legislative
session. Food is Medicine (FIM) programs use food-based interventions to help
prevent, manage, and treat specific health conditions.
“Nutrition and health are deeply connected,” Julie Butner, M.S., R.D., L.D. and
President & CEO of the Tarrant Area Food Bank said. “Individuals facing food
insecurity are more likely to experience adverse health effects and face barriers to
accessing necessary health services. Food insecurity is associated with higher rates
of chronic and diet-related diseases and when someone is sick, having to choose
between food and treatment can lead to serious complications. Understanding this
connection is crucial for developing comprehensive strategies to improve both food
security and health care outcomes across our 13-county service area and across
our state.”
Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 1575 into law in June 2023. The bill recognizes that
non-medical factors impact health outcomes and requires that pregnant Medicaid
beneficiaries be screened for non-medical needs. It also offers case management
services to connect those beneficiaries with non-medical resources in the
community. In response to the new law, starting September 2024, Managed Care
Organizations (MCOs) in Texas began using screening questions developed by the
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to assess the non-medical
needs of their pregnant patients.
HB 1575 strengthens the way Medicaid can be used to identify and impact
underlying, non-medical issues such as nutrition, housing, transportation, and
more. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Lacey Hull and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst and
its passage came after HHSC released an action plan to address non-medical
drivers of health (NMDoH) through Medicaid & CHIP.
“In the 2023 legislative session, Texas lawmakers recognized the importance of
addressing non-medical drivers of health and took action to improve health
outcomes for pregnant patients,” Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, the state
association of food banks said. “HB 1575 was a promising step in the right
direction, as is HHSC’s action plan. We are hopeful the synergy we’ve seen around
these solutions will carry into the 2025 session. Feeding Texas will support
strategies meant to continue this groundbreaking work with the goal of reducing
food insecurity and increasing access to nutritious foods to help Medicaid
beneficiaries manage chronic conditions and diet-related illnesses.”
FIM solutions have been identified as a top priority by the Feeding Texas network
and the Texas Food Policy Roundtable (TFPR), a coalition of more than 70
organizations dedicated to ending hunger. Feeding Texas plans to support two
primary FIM strategies in the 2025 legislative session, including Medicaid 1115
Waivers and “In Lieu of Services” (ILOS) provisions.
Medicaid 1115 Waivers are demonstration projects that give states flexibility to test
policy approaches with the potential to improve services to Medicaid populations.
ILOS is a provision that can be added to Medicaid contracts that allow MCOs to
substitute Health-Related Social Needs (HRSNs) for traditional medical care.
“Creating a healthy Texas requires a healthcare system that takes a holistic
approach to treating patients and addresses health-related needs beyond just
medicine,” Cole said. “Food banks have operated in this space for years and have
a track record of developing successful programs with local healthcare organizations
to serve community members. Further integrating nutrition into our healthcare
system would enable doctors to prescribe healthy food that food banks can provide
through a streamlined Medicaid reimbursement model. This would simplify the
process for patients, scale already-existing food bank infrastructure, and could
significantly lower healthcare costs over time.”
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