Health Plan Weekly

With ‘Food as Medicine,’ States Want Medicaid MCOs to Show Results

  • Dec 15
    Popup Image

    Dec 15, 2023

    Nutrition is a key social determinant of health (SDOH), and the Medicaid program increasingly is an important conduit for connecting beneficiaries with healthy foods. According to state Medicaid officials from Delaware and Nevada, and home care caterer Mom’s Meals, managed care organizations have a critical role to play — and a clear financial incentive — in improving their members’ nutrition. 

    Using health plan benefits to cover food as medicine — making sure that patients aren’t hungry and are eating a diet that does not exacerbate their chronic ailments — are a popular Medicare Advantage supplementary benefit, with nearly one-quarter of MA plans offering nutrition and dietary services. Medicaid plans are also increasingly viewing hunger and poor nutrition as a SDOH that can, if unaddressed, drive preventable care utilization.  

    Read more
      • Health Plan Weekly
    © 2024 MMIT

    • Peter Johnson

    Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.

    Back to Health Plan Weekly

Related Posts

The Latest
Premium Categories
Meet Our Reporters

Lauren Flynn Kelly

Executive Editor, AIS Health, and Managing Editor, Radar on Medicare Advantage

View Lauren Flynn Kelly's Profile

Angela Maas

Managing Editor, Radar on Specialty Pharmacy and Spotlight on Market Access

View Angela Maas's Profile

Leslie Small

Managing Editor, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

View Leslie Small's Profile

Tim Casey

Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

View Tim Casey’s Profile

Carina Belles

Reporter, Radar on Medicare Advantage and Spotlight on Market Access

View Carina Belles's Profile

Jinghong Chen

Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

View Jinghong Chen's Profile

Jill Drachenberg

Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

View Jill Drachenberg's Profile

Meet Our Reporters

Lauren Flynn Kelly

Executive Editor, AIS Health, and Managing Editor, Radar on Medicare Advantage

View Lauren Flynn Kelly's Profile

Angela Maas

Managing Editor, Radar on Specialty Pharmacy and Spotlight on Market Access

View Angela Maas's Profile

Leslie Small

Managing Editor, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

View Leslie Small's Profile

Tim Casey

Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

View Tim Casey’s Profile

Carina Belles

Reporter, Radar on Medicare Advantage and Spotlight on Market Access

View Carina Belles's Profile

Jinghong Chen

Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

View Jinghong Chen's Profile

Jill Drachenberg

Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

View Jill Drachenberg's Profile

Tags
Social Determinants of Health
Managed Medicaid
Data & Analytics
Medicaid Wavier
Benefit Design
×

PREMIUM CONTENT AND PREMIUM INSIGHTS

To gain access to this article you need to have a Premium Subscription.
Click the link below to access today!