Some health insurance companies now pay for “meals” because eating right can prevent disease. … [+]
During the holiday season, Americans’ philanthropic impulse is repeatedly highlighted with stories of donating food and feeding the less fortunate. What is not discussed is that many poor and elderly Americans are supported by health insurance plans based on the cold calculation that doing so will reduce future medical costs. .
The prophet Isaiah promised that if you “extend your compassion to the hungry,” “the Lord will always guide you,” but the “food is medicine” movement (also known as “food as medicine”) ) focuses on more tangible rewards. . Tufts University researchers say providing medically tailored diets to 6.3 million Americans with diet-sensitive conditions could avoid hospitalizations and other medical problems and save $13.6 billion annually. We discovered that there is a possibility of saving money.
separate Landscape survey where food is medicineinvestigated how poor diet is linked to heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and other diseases and concluded: , Medicaid and other federal programs… Improving the population’s dietary intake has significant health benefits and therefore impacts costs. ”
Since 2020, the government has allowed Medicare Advantage plans to offer additional benefits, such as meals. According to KFF (formerly Kaiser Family Foundation), in 2024, 72% of MA plans offered meal benefits such as meal delivery. Interestingly, only 13.9% of those eligible for the so-called Special Supplementary Benefit for the Chronically Ill were offered individual plans. Food and produce were included, but 60% of the “special needs plan” was included.
On the other hand, if a senior who needs food or nutritional assistance chooses traditional Medicare, that person will have to find help on their own.
In 2023, the federal government will begin approving requests from states that want to use Medicaid funds for food-related programs such as grocery vouchers, stocking pantries with healthy foods for children and pregnant women, and nutritional counseling. a Wall Street Journal article He noted broad bipartisan support for the effort and outlined early food efforts in states as diverse as Massachusetts and Arkansas.
But of course, when good intentions involve exorbitant amounts of money, both abuse and opportunity arise. For example, a STAT News investigation found that one food company was paid millions of dollars a year by state Medicaid programs to provide “medically tailored” meals to people suffering from diseases such as cancer and diabetes. But it turns out they serve salty, trendy food. As a cheeseburger. Another company sold biscuits and gravy that were high in sodium and saturated fat.
At the other end of the scale (so to speak), a company called Foodsmart has raised funding to invest in a remote nutrition platform. The platform allows primary care providers to refer Medicaid patients to a network of “virtual dietitians,” according to a post on Forbes.com. ” provides “nutritional guidance tailored to individual conditions.”
Perhaps closer to the holiday spirit is a New York-based organization active in the “food as medicine” movement, which embodies both ethics and economics. The organization, which provides medically tailored meals, is called “God’s Love We Deliver.”
