Tue, 28 Jan 2025

Food-as-medicine startups hope Kennedy, if confirmed as HHS secretary, will boost their businesses

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., if confirmed as HHS secretary, could help food-as-medicine startups expand with wider government health plan coverage.
Kennedy's potential appointment to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has sparked interest from a niche group of startups focused on nutrition-based services, particularly those covered by Medicaid. Startups in the food-as-medicine sector are hoping Kennedy's vow to "Make America Healthy Again" will boost their growth and keep programs funded despite Republican efforts to cut federal-state Medicaid funding. Investors have poured over $2 billion into the space since 2020, with more than four dozen companies raising funds from venture capital firms like Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. Kennedy's pledge to end corruption in regulatory agencies and return health agencies to evidence-based science may align with investor interests in the food-as-medicine sector, which has seen significant growth over the past five years. The sector's growth is driven by state Medicaid programs providing active nutritional counseling to combat chronic conditions, as well as government incentives for nutrition-based services through waivers and policy initiatives. Kennedy's potential opposition to expanding coverage of expensive weight loss drugs may further fuel investor enthusiasm in the space. Experts predict a fiscal reckoning on health-care spending in the U.S. and see food programs playing a pivotal role in reducing preventable disease.
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