Foodsmart Medicare Advantage Benefit

Weight loss is a common New Year’s resolution, but this year, losing the “quarantine 15” seems to be an even more broadly shared goal many can relate to--and which our Registered Dietitians see during telenutrition visits. But, even more so, food and economic insecurity, social isolation and mental health and the risks of COVID are on our minds. And yet, 2021 feels like a hopeful year, with vaccinations accelerating, SNAP benefits continuing to expand, and with the increased certainty of having the elections and Presidential Inauguration behind us--and Medicare bid season upon us.  

What we’ve learned from our Medicare Advantage work in Florida, with community health plans across the country and national plans like Aetna is that plans are looking for benefits that maximize member experience to improve growth and retention. With an NPS over 80 for our telenutrition patients, plus Foodsmart’s ability to broadly and deeply engage diverse populations with food ordering support, healthy food directed spend/ savings programs and integration with your medically tailored meals providers, we help your members build a daily life affinity with your plan that shows up in your CAHPS and NPS surveys. 

With over one million members, our published studies, Nutriscore and at-scale health outcomes assessments also show we improve nutrition by improving member’s food buying environment long-term, and sustain health outcomes like weight loss longer and more cost-effectively than traditional coaching solutions on their own. Foodsmart is a qualified ROI-generating medical cost (instead of an administrative cost), which can route fees through claims as a national provider organization. Plus, as you strive to improve your Star Rating, and prioritize your Supplemental Benefits, our outcomes reporting and clinical research MDs and PhDs can help your analytics and actuarial teams validate your own revenue and cost-savings ROI (for Foodsmart, and for related rewards/ perks programs, medically tailored meals, food bank, SNAP enrollment, weight management and disease management programs) using data we help you securely collect at scale, and controlled claims studies. 

COVID has accelerated key challenges and opportunities, from Food Insecurity and the new ability to use SNAP online and on Foodsmart nationally, to cultural and regulatory shifts facilitating rapid, sustained growth of ordering food online and telehealth (including telenutrition)--which are also more important than ever given the higher present risk members with chronic disease face from novel infections like COVID. Ask about our Foodsecure program for specifically helping food insecure members be able to sustainably afford healthy food through our price comparison technology, and to lessen the burden (and cost) of nutrition-sensitive risks like hyperglycemia from diabetes, gestational diabetes, or side-effects of medication for cancer or mental health; hyperlipidemia; post hospital discharge heart failure; PCOS; autoimmune disease flares; GERD; management of severe obesity and related musculoskeletal costs; bariatric surgery; and weight-based dosing for specialty drugs. 

Take a break, and reach out to us to meet with one of our Registered Dietitians and get groceries or a healthy meal delivered on us. Thank you for all of your hard work- especially in 2020 and ahead. 

Jason Langheier, MD, MPH

CEO & Founder