Meal delivery programs reduce cost of healthcare in dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries
About 13 percent of U.S. households report food insecurity.
Food delivery programs, especially those that are tailored to meet a person's specific medical needs, have the potential to decrease costs and utilization among those who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, according to new research published in Health Affairs.
The authors examined two different meal programs. The first was a medically tailored program that delivered five days' worth of lunches, dinners and snacks, all designed around specific dietary tracks -- diabetes, renal, soft and so on. The second was a non-medical Meals on Wheels program.
Participants in both programs experienced fewer emergency department visits, and those in the medically tailored program also has fewer inpatient admissions and lower medical spending. The non-tailored food program wasn't linked with fewer inpatient admissions, but was associated with lower medical spending.
Of course, there's a cost associated with each program, so that cost had to be subtracted from the estimated savings to calculate the true cost reductions. Doing so, researchers discovered that the medically tailored meals program yielded net savings of $220 per patient, while the non-tailored program saw $10 in net savings.
Numbers like that can add up. Lack of access to nutritious food is a social determinant of health linked to high healthcare costs. About 13 percent of U.S. households report food insecurity, according to the findings. It's associated with $77 billion in excess healthcare expenditures each year.
Lack of access to nutritious food is a particular problem for people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. They qualify for Medicaid on the basis of low income, and for Medicare through age or adjudicated disability.
The authors said that further, preferably randomized evaluations are needed, but that the results of their meal delivery research has been encouraging.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
