Medically Tailored Meals Could Yield $32.1B in Health Care Savings Nationwide

  • Apr 18, 2025

    Nationwide implementation of home-delivered medically tailored meals (MTMs) could prevent hospitalizations in 50 states and save $32.1 billion in health care costs in the first year alone, according to a Health Affairs study.

    As a “Food Is Medicine” intervention, MTMs are meals prepared by registered dieticians for people with complex health conditions and high acuity of care. As of January 2025, 16 states have approved or proposed Medicaid section 1115 waivers that enabled MTM treatment coverage, the study reported. States that are utilizing MTMs in their Medicaid programs via 1115 waivers include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.

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    © 2024 MMIT
  • Jinghong Chen

    Jinghong has been producing infographics and data stories on employer-sponsored insurance, public health insurance programs and prescription drug coverage for AIS Health’s Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits since 2018. She also manages AIS Health’s annual executive compensation database for top insurers and Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliates. Before joining AIS Health, she interned at WBEZ, Al Jazeera English and The New York Times Chinese. She graduated from Missouri School of Journalism with a focus on data journalism and international reporting.

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