This bill makes sure that people with certain digestive and inherited metabolic disorders can get special medical foods covered by federal health insurance programs. These are people whose bodies can't properly digest or process regular food, so they need specially formulated nutrition—sometimes as drinks or formulas given through a tube—just to survive and stay healthy.

Right now, insurance coverage for these medical foods is inconsistent and often comes with unnecessary restrictions. For example, insurance might only cover the formula if it's delivered through a feeding tube, even when a patient could drink it normally. This bill requires Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and federal employee health plans to cover these medical foods and the equipment needed to administer them. The bill covers specific conditions like inherited metabolic disorders, short bowel syndrome, severe food allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, and similar serious digestive conditions. It does not cover regular foods marketed for weight loss or disease prevention, or foods for managing diabetes or celiac disease.

The bill also encourages private insurance companies to offer similar coverage. It takes effect at different times for different programs—Medicare coverage starts in three years, Medicaid in two years, and CHIP in one year. This ensures that children and adults with these life-threatening conditions can access the nutrition they need without facing insurance denials or being forced into unnecessary medical procedures, while also protecting any state laws that already provide broader coverage than what this bill requires.