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National Public Policy, Legislation & Advocacy

Updated November 4, 2023

General

The Academy and Public Policy

As a state affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Academy), the Massachusetts Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (MAND) promotes public policy and advocates for issues in line with those of the Academy. The Academy’s defined legislative and public policy priority areas, which are critical to achieving its mission, vision, goals and strategies, are outlined in its Strategic Plan Roadmap.

The Academy’s current priorities are focused around these main areas:

1. Well-being and prevention

2. Diversity and inclusion

3. Nutrition security and food safety 

4. Nutrition care and health systems 

Read more about the Academy’s public policy priorities here.

Policy Initiatives and Advocacy Team

The Academy's Policy Initiatives and Advocacy (PIA) team is located in Washington, DC, where it serves as the Academy’s voice on Capitol Hill. The work of the PIA team complements and supports the work of state affiliates and individual members to promote food and nutrition policies at the national level.

PIA staff members lead the Academy’s consumer protection and licensure efforts and meet with government agencies such as USDA, FDA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to discuss regulatory issues. They meet with members of Congress to promote nutrition-focused policy, organize the Nutrition and Dietetics Advocacy Summit and guide the Academy’s grassroots activities at the state level.

Nutrition and Dietetics Advocacy Summit

Held annually, the Nutrition and Dietetics Advocacy Summit (NDAS) brings together RDNs and NDTRs from across the country to learn about key policy issues impacting the dietetics profession and our nation’s health. Attendees also sharpen their communication skills and at the end of the conference meet with members of Congress to discuss food and nutrition policy issues. They discuss key pieces of legislation designed to increase access to healthy food, nutrition services and MNT, asking members of Congress to sign on in support of specific bills or voting to pass bills to become law.

Prior to COVID, (NDAS) was held in Washington, D.C., and members of MAND’s Public Policy Panel would attend and meet with the Capitol Hill offices of the eleven members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation. The MA delegation includes two U.S. Senators and nine members of the U.S House of Representatives. 

https://www.senate.gov/states/MA/intro.htm

https://www.house.gov/representatives#state-massachusetts

NDAS was held virtually in 2022 and 2023, allowing more MAND members to meet with the offices of Senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren and many of the nine Representatives to discuss the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act and Child Nutrition Reauthorization. We are hoping to continue these virtual meetings through the end of 2023.

Interested in attending the 2024 NDAS? Keep checking this page for updates.

Interested in learning more about nutrition public policy at the federal level? Visit https://www.eatrightpro.org/advocacy

Legislation

U.S. Congress

Each Congress lasts two years, with two one-year sessions. The current 118^th Congress began on January 3, 2023 and will end on January 3, 2025. Every new Congress, the Academy works with members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to find sponsors and cosponsors of bills in line with the Academy’s stated public policy priorities. Bills which are not passed by Congress to become law during a session of Congress “die in session” and need to be reintroduced in the new Congress. Thus, bills supported by the Academy vary over time, as bills get passed, die in session, or are reintroduced in a new session. Academy staff in Washington, DC, work with nutrition champions on Capitol Hill to get new bills introduced and to get bills from the previous Congress reintroduced.

In the current 2023-2024 session, the Academy’s main legislative priorities are:

Funding critical health and nutrition programs in 2023 and 2024

Advancing a Farm Bill that assures a nourishing, affordable and sustainable food supply

Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA)

Learn more about the Academy’s main legislative priorities and take action: https://www.eatrightpro.org/advocacy/take-action/action-alerts.

Regulation 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

When Congress passes a bill into law, one or more government agencies are identified to write regulations to explicitly outline the specifics of the law. For example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the health care agency overseeing the health care of over 100 million Medicare and Medicaid recipients, writes and updates regulations to reflect major health care legislation, such as new preventive services under the Affordable Care Act. Importantly, CMS regulations impact the large percentage of Academy members working in clinical and outpatient settings. In addition, many states’ Medicaid and commercial insurance plans follow suit, covering conditions and reimbursing RDNs for MNT services in line with CMS.

Therapeutic Diet Order Writing

In May 2014, CMS ruled that RDNs in hospitals could be privileged to independently order therapeutic diet and monitor and manage dietary plans for their patients. The Academy remains involved in the continued rollout of the new rule, providing support to affiliates and members working in clinical dietetics seeking to be privileged to work within this new, enlarged role.

Licensure and Professional Regulation of Dietitians

The Academy works to support affiliates in the 48 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico who currently have statutory provisions regulating the dietetics profession or associated titles, such as “licensed dietitian/nutritionist.” It also works with affiliates to continue their efforts to obtain new or strengthen existing licensure provisions.

For more information on dietetic licensure in Massachusetts, see the Licensure Information section under the Professional Development tab on the MAND website.

For further information on licensure across the U.S. visit:  https://www.eatrightpro.org/advocacy/licensure/licensure-map-and-statutes-by-state

For information on the Academy’s efforts to strengthen regulation of the dietetics profession visit: https://www.eatrightpro.org/advocacy/licensure/why-licensure

Advocacy

The Academy and Advocacy

The Academy calls upon its members to support legislation and issues important to our profession and provides background information and the means for doing so. These include “Action Alerts,” “Take Your Congressperson to Work Day” and Quarterly Advocacy Days. Members may edit their Academy correspondence subscriber preferences and receive regular e-newsletters, such as Eat Right Weekly and Nutrition and Dietetics SmartBrief. Those interested in public policy and advocacy may also subscribe to Public Policy Weekly News, which provides updates on a wide variety of policy issues.

Set your email subscriber preferences at https://www.eatrightpro.org/account/my-academy

Action Alerts

“Action Alerts” are sent out by the Academy throughout the year as bills or resolutions supported by the Academy are introduced or up for a vote in the U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives, or, if a government agency is planning to implement or change current regulations. Members are urged to take a few minutes to log into their www.eatrightpro.org account to use the Academy-provided tool, the “Academy Action Center,” to send pre-written electronic letters to their members of Congress. With only a few keyboard strokes, members can personalize the letters and include their contact information.

Learn more at https://www.eatrightpro.org/advocacy/take-action/action-alerts

Take Your Congressperson to Work

Each August, Congress recesses and members work from their home district offices. This district work period provides the opportunity for Academy members to meet with their members of Congress to provide further information on key pieces of legislation supported by the Academy. The Academy suggests that during this time members may also wish to organize an opportunity to “take their Congressperson to work,” inviting them to see the important work they do in their role as RDN in the private, public or non-profit sector. If this is something you might like to do, let the PPP know!

National Alliances

To expand the reach of its national advocacy campaigns, the Academy joins national advocacy alliances working on a variety of health and nutrition issues. Examples of these are the Obesity Care Advocacy Network https://obesitycareadvocacynetwork.com and Defeat Nutrition Today https://www.defeatmalnutrition.today.