Chorus Community Health Plan shows $33 PMPM average claims savings with Foodsmart food is medicine program
Given the significant healthcare costs associated with chronic conditions and food insecurity, health plans are investing
in proven solutions to sustainably address these needs. In a recent matched pair controlled claims analysis with Chorus Community Health Plan, Foodsmart demonstrated significant cost savings amongst both Medicaid and Exchange members by helping to improve their food access and affordability, overall nutrition, and related health outcomes.
Partnership overview:
CCHP and Foodsmart began partnering in July 2021 to create a scalable solution addressing food insecurity and chronic conditions related to nutrition. Foodsmart, the largest telenutrition provider and digital nutrition platform in the U.S., drives lasting behavior change through personalized meal plans, an integrated healthy food marketplace, and access to the largest network of dietitians in the country. CCHP is part of Children’s Wisconsin, one of the most reputable children’s hospital systems in the country. Its health plan serves both children and adults in the Greater Milwaukee area.
To create a solution that would see significant results, CCHP and Foodsmart created a robust outreach plan to maximize adoption given how many of their members were struggling with food insecurity and chronic conditions. This plan included:
- Nutrition education with culturally competent registered dietitians in multiple languages and SNAP enrollment support
- Community events
- Provider referrals in partnership with Children’s Wisconsin Hospital System
- Robust member outreach via calling, email, SMS, and other appropriate channels
This resulted in the most adopted program CCHP has had to date, with over 10% of households meeting with a dietitian, and high member satisfaction (Net Promoter Score of ~60).
Improvements in chronic conditions yield significant claims savings:
Further, we evaluated these saving by three nutrition-sensitive conditions: diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol). Figure 1 depicts the average 12-month PMPM claims savings generated by Foodsmart across major chronic conditions compared to controls: savings ranged from $62 to $871 PMPM in some members.. Both Medicaid and Exchange populations saw overall claims savings** of $32 PMPM and $45 PMPM respectively as indicated in Table 1. This claims study aligns closely with other claims analyses evaluating the magnitude of the Foodsmart program’s impact on population health and cost of care. Another recent matched pair claims study on the Foodsmart program in a Medicaid expansion state found, similarly, that Foodsmart generated $30PMPM net claims savings among all member segments..
