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Take Action Now!

Updated January 4, 2022

The Academy needs your help with open action alerts:

The Medical Nutrition Therapy Act (S.1536/H.R.3108)

This bill amends the Social Security Act to expand Medicare Part B coverage of outpatient MNT for obesity, prediabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, malnutrition, cancer, celiac disease, eating disorders, HIV/AIDS and any other disease or condition causing unintentional weight loss. It also authorizes nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists and psychologists to refer patients for MNT.

Read the Academy’s issue brief on the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act here:

Action alerts change as the call for advocacy changes. Currently, you can take action to support the following:

• Build Back Better Act
• Medically-Tailored Meals Pilot Program
• Expanding Access to DSMT
• School Foodservice Modernization
• Expanding Access to Eating Disorder MNT
• IBT for Obesity (Treat and Reduce Obesity Act)

Join an Academy Affinity Group! 

Connect with fellow members on top policy priorities and learn how to get involved. Click here to register for monthly meetings and join the COI for each affinity group.

• MNT Expansion - First Tuesday of every month from 3:30-4:30 pm ET
• Nutrition Security - First Wednesday of every month from 4:00-5:00 pm ET
• Maternal Child Health - Second Wednesday of every month from 4:00-5:00 pm ET
• Licensure Initiatives - Third Friday of every month from 4:00-5:00 pm ET
• Health Equity – Fourth Friday of every month from 2:00-3:00 pm ET

 For questions about registering, contact govaffairs@eatright.org and cc sconca@live.com.

Want to help MAND contact and connect with our state and federal legislators?

Sign up to be a part of MAND's Grassroots Network! 

To help MAND’s Public Policy Panel communicate effectively and advocate successfully for food and nutrition issues important to our profession, we maintain a list of members who would like to be more actively involved with public policy activities.

This “Grassroots Network” of MAND members from across the state is critical to advancing public policies supported by MAND and the Academy. Helping out can be as simple as sending an email or a social media message, as this helps to create and grow relationships with elected officials.

Each registered voter is a constituent of two U.S. senators and one U.S. representative as well as one state senator and one state representative. Our elected officials appreciate hearing directly from their constituents, learning about issues important to them. It is when we educate them on nutrition-related issues and directly ask for their support of a bill or policy item that we can begin to see success in policy areas important to us and our fellow nutrition and dietetics practitioners.

What can you do to get involved and join the Grassroots Network? Visit https://www.sec.state.ma.us/wheredoivotema/bal/myelectioninfo.aspx and enter your home address to see a complete listing of your members of Congress, members of the state legislature and other local offices. Then email Sarah Conca, MAND’s Director of Public Policy at sconca@live.com with the following information:

-       Your full name, credentials, home address, ZIP code + 4;

-       Preferred email and telephone number;

-       Name of your U.S. representative; and

-       Names of your MA senator and MA representative.

 Thank you for your advocacy!