What You Should Know:
– Foodsmart, the leader in telenutrition and food benefits management, today announced the results of a new study stemming from its partnership of almost 3 years with Chorus Community Health Plans (CCHP), an affiliate of Children’s Wisconsin.
– In an effort to bridge the nutrition access gap in Wisconsin and address health concerns related to food insecurity across the state, Foodsmart and CCHP launched their partnership in July 2021. This is the first-ever documented program amongst an entire population of Medicaid and Marketplace members to demonstrate that food is medicine lowers healthcare costs by helping to improve food access and affordability, overall nutrition, and related health outcomes.
Transforming Health Through Food: The Impact of the Foodsmart-CCHP Partnership in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, where CCHP members are served, over 400,000 individuals face food insecurity, with more than 37% of households receiving SNAP assistance having children, totaling over 140,000 minors struggling to meet their nutritional needs.
Recognizing this pressing issue, Foodsmart and CCHP have maintained their partnership to address food insecurity throughout Wisconsin. As the largest food benefits management company in the U.S., Foodsmart oversees all aspects of food benefits management, including enrolling members for SNAP benefits and devising personalized nutrition plans tailored to combat food-related chronic conditions such as diabetes.
A study conducted by CCHP and Foodsmart utilized a matched pair-controlled claims analysis to assess the impact of their partnership, ensuring that the control group closely matched the non-control group in demographics. The findings revealed significant average claims savings for health plans, with Medicaid members experiencing savings of $32 PMPM and Exchange members seeing savings of $45 PMPM through participation in the Foodsmart-CCHP program.
The joint effort aimed to develop a scalable solution to tackle food insecurity and nutrition-related chronic conditions. Member benefits include unlimited access to personal dietitian visits, access to thousands of affordable recipes, an integrated healthy FoodsMART for comparing grocery prices and arranging delivery, savings on groceries through local deals and coupons, assistance with SNAP/EBT enrollment and usage, and help in locating available community resources.
Moreover, Foodsmart has collaborated with Children’s Wisconsin to prescribe food for its patients, many of whom are under 18 years old and have seen average savings of $24 PMPM through the CCHP/Foodsmart partnership.
This initiative has become CCHP’s most widely adopted program to date, with over 10% of CCHP households enrolling. Additionally, other households have benefited indirectly from the Foodsmart-CCHP partnership by gaining access to SNAP benefits, affordable recipes, grocery discounts, and educational programs.
By specifically targeting food insecurity as a significant contributor to nutrition-sensitive chronic conditions, substantial savings were observed among members with these conditions. For instance, members with diabetes experienced savings of $107 PMPM, while those with hypertension saw savings of $101 PMPM, and individuals with hyperlipidemia saved $167 PMPM. Across all conditions, Foodsmart members realized 12-month savings ranging from $62 PMPM to $871 PMPM. Although this study focuses on CCHP members, its results closely align with other claims analyses assessing the impact of Foodsmart programs on population health and cost of care.
By reducing the cost of claims for health plans, Foodsmart is enhancing accessibility to essential food benefits for vulnerable communities affected by food insecurity and poor nutrition. The Foodsmart-CCHP partnership stands as a compelling example of the transformative impact such programs can have.
“We never could have imagined just how much of an impact this program would have on our community,” said Mark Rakowski, President of Chorus Community Health Plans. “Since offering Foodsmart to our members, we’re not only saving money on claims, we’re witnessing firsthand how a ‘food is medicine’ approach is helping with our members’ health, including an overall decrease in diabetes, heart disease and food insecurity incidence. The program has also had the biggest reach of any other program we’ve implemented, benefiting more than 11,000 members to date.”