Medicare tests free food help for sick people in poor areas.
S. 5267 — Accountable Produce is Medicine Act of 2026 · Filed by Jim Banks (R-IN) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 5, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill tells Medicare and Medicaid to run a test program. It is called Accountable Produce is Medicine. The program gives free meals, fresh produce, and nutrition advice. It serves people with long-term illnesses in areas that need more help. At least five programs will run the test for at least five years. The government will track whether the food help cuts healthcare costs.
Who it affects
People with chronic diseases in underserved areas get free food and nutrition help. Healthcare providers and food programs that join the test get bundled payments. Patients pay nothing out of pocket.
One thing to notice
The bill does not say when the test must end. It does not say what proof of savings is needed to keep it going.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Aug 5, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Aug 5, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- chronic diseases — Long-term illnesses that last a long time, like diabetes or heart disease.
- underserved areas — Places where people have fewer doctors, hospitals, and health services.
- bundled payments — One payment that covers many services instead of paying for each service separately.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (8,466 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
“Medicare tests free food help for sick people in poor areas.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5267/simple Report an error