Medicare reimbursement for home and community-based professional nutrition educational services provided by a registered dietitian is restricted to patients who:

• A. have diabetes or renal disease
• B. live alone
• C. have cancer
• D. are over the age of 65

Answer: (A)

Medicare's medical nutrition therapy benefit is disease-specific, so coverage for home or community-based nutrition education provided by a registered dietitian applies only to patients who have diabetes or kidney (renal) disease. This is what makes that option the correct one: age, living situation, or a cancer diagnosis by itself does not qualify someone for MNT reimbursement. In practice, the RD delivers individualized nutrition education under this benefit (often with a physician referral) and the service is billed under the medical nutrition therapy codes.