REP. NANCY MACE: AS GOVERNOR, I WILL USE MEDICAID LEVERAGE TO GET JUNK FOOD OUT OF SOUTH CAROLINA HOSPITALS

Mace Backs RFK Jr.’s Hospital Food Initiative, Make America Healthy Again

Congresswoman Nancy Mace, leading Republican candidate for Governor, today announced her support for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s initiative to overhaul hospital food nationwide and outlined the specific tools she will use as Governor to enforce healthy food standards in South Carolina hospitals receiving Medicaid dollars.

“You don’t heal the sick with Jell-O and high fructose corn syrup soda,” said Rep. Mace. “Secretary Kennedy is right. Sometimes the most powerful tool in medicine is real food. And as Governor of South Carolina, I’m not going to wait for Washington to act – I’m going to use every lever available to make sure hospitals that take Medicaid dollars are nourishing South Carolina’s patients with the healthiest food available.”

THE MACE PLAN: MEDICAID AS THE MECHANISM

South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services has substantial authority over hospitals that participate in the state Medicaid program – and Rep. Mace intends to use it. As Governor, she will direct SCDHHS to:

Tie hospital food standards to Medicaid provider agreements. Hospitals that bill Medicaid must meet nutrition standards as a condition of their provider agreements. If you want to collect Medicaid reimbursements, serve food that actually heals.

Reform reimbursement rates to reward healthy outcomes. SCDHHS can restructure reimbursement incentives to reward hospitals that adopt evidence-based nutrition standards and penalize those that serve ultra-processed food linked to longer recovery times and higher readmission rates.

Direct Managed Care Organizations to enforce nutrition standards. South Carolina uses MCOs to administer a significant portion of its Medicaid program. As Governor, Mace will require MCOs to include hospital nutrition standards in their provider contracts.

“These aren’t radical ideas – they’re common sense,” Mace said. “We already tell hospitals what procedures they can bill for. We can tell them what they can serve. And if a hospital wants to sue the State of South Carolina for the right to keep feeding sick patients food that’s making them more sick – let them try.”

SOUTH CAROLINA CAN LEAD

Kennedy’s announcement in Florida is a signal. States aligned with healthier standards have an opportunity to move first – and move fast.

“Florida is already stepping up. South Carolina should be right there with them,” Mace said. “We have a nursing shortage. We have a chronic disease crisis. We have hospitals that are world-class in technology and mediocre at lunch.”

The Mace administration will also explore partnerships between South Carolina farmers and hospital food programs – connecting local agricultural producers to health care facilities to deliver fresh, nutrient-dense food to patients across the state.

“We grow some of the best food in America right here in South Carolina,” Mace added. “Our patients deserve to eat it.”

From POLITICO.