March 31, 2026 — The Trump administration is pushing hospitals to align patient meals with the latest Dietary Guidelines by phasing out ultra-processed food and high-sugar foods in favor of fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed proteins.
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a memo to hospitals requesting they adjust meals with the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).
The memo urges hospitals to limit ultra-processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grains, processed meats, and foods high in added sugars, sodium, and artificial additives.
Instead, hospital meals should prioritize minimally processed protein, vegetables, fruits, legumes, healthy fats, and whole grains. Some of the recommended meals include grilled salmon with quinoa and roasted vegetables or steel-cut oats with berries and nuts.
This is one of the first concrete steps the administration has taken to implement the updated DGAs, a key priority of the food wing of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. The administration is in the rulemaking process to update nutrition standards for school meals to align with the guidelines, as well.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz announced the memo at a roundtable in Florida. The event was hosted by America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank co-founded by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. The officials also celebrated a commitment from Nicklaus Children’s Hospital to include more farm-to-hospital purchasing and boosting local procurement.
The CMS memo, technically called a Quality and Safety Special Alert, reminds hospitals that they must comply with federal conditions to receive reimbursement for Medicare. This includes ensuring patient meals are nutritious in accordance with recognized dietary practices.
Hospitals are largely reliant on federal Medicare and Medicaid dollars. The memo states hospitals must comply with the Conditions of Participation, but does not discuss any enforcement mechanisms for this change.
Over the past decade, groups like the Food Is Medicine Coalition have pushed for changes to hospital food, and many large healthcare systems have worked to improve the quality of the meals they serve.
Ahead of the changes to school meals, school nutrition experts have warned it would cost more to move away from ultra-processed foods and more scratch cooking. It’s not yet clear the potential cost impacts on hospitals, but rural hospitals already on the economic brink are also grappling with the impacts of other healthcare policy changes. (Link to this post).
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