How Health Plan Grocery Benefits May Help With Diabetes Management
Key Highlights:
- Elevance Health and Carelon Research studied how grocery assistance provided through a health plan was associated with health outcomes among members with diabetes.
- Members with a grocery benefit showed improved adherence to diabetes medications and a significant decrease in diabetes with complications.
- The findings suggest grocery benefits may be a practical, scalable way for health plans and employers to support better health by addressing access to nutritious food.
Nutritious foods are foundational to better health, but buying fruits, vegetables, and other beneficial items can pose a financial challenge for many people. Recent research findings show how health plans can help bring nutrient-rich foods within easier reach, with potential benefits that go beyond the grocery checkout line.
In a peer-reviewed study published in The American Journal of Managed Care, researchers from Elevance Health and Carelon Research looked for potential links between grocery assistance provided by a health plan and health outcomes among people with diabetes. Their results point to how health plans and employers can make a meaningful difference for members and employees by addressing everyday factors that help influence health and well-being.
Findings: To conduct the study, researchers gathered data from Elevance Health-affiliated health plans that included a benefit of between $1,200 and $3,000 annually in grocery assistance to members who qualified for the support based on household income. Members could use a grocery benefits card at a variety of stores to buy items such as fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and whole grains. They could not use the funds to buy prepared foods, alcohol, or tobacco.
Researchers compared the healthcare use and health outcomes of approximately 400 members with diabetes who selected a grocery benefit health plan with a group of members with diabetes who did not select that type of plan. They found a significant decrease in the prevalence of diabetes with complications among the group with the grocery benefit, as well as improved adherence to diabetes medications.
Healthcare use did not significantly increase or decrease among the members who selected the grocery benefit — a potential sign they still accessed routine care, but with their diabetes better managed.
“For many people, managing diabetes starts with what they’re able to put on the table, long before they get to the doctor’s office,” said Dr. Kofi Essel, food as medicine director at Elevance Health and one of the study’s authors. “These findings suggest helping people get nutritious food may help them improve their health without requiring more intensive or higher levels of care.”
What’s Next: While life stressors such as limited time and financial concerns can make it difficult for people to consistently prioritize nutritious meals, the study indicates that a whole-health approach that embraces food as medicine can contribute to better health and help prevent complications that can lead to disruptions in life and more costly care.
Other food as medicine interventions available through health plans can include produce prescriptions and medically tailored groceries or meals, and are often offered with personalized, evidence-based nutrition counseling and education. Elevance Health-affiliated health plans have prioritized food as medicine and operate dozens of initiatives across various states.
“Nutritious food is one of the most basic building blocks of health,” Essel said. “By making it easier for people to access that food, health plans and employers can support better health in a way that is evidence-based, practical, scalable, and connected to people’s everyday lives.”
Methodology: Researchers used administrative claims and other data from Jan. 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023, to study commercially insured members with Type 2 diabetes. The study compared members with diabetes who enrolled in a health plan offering grocery assistance with eligible members with diabetes who did not enroll in that type of plan, and researchers used a statistical approach called difference-in-differences to compare changes over time between the two groups while accounting for member characteristics and time trends. They looked at outcomes including medical diagnoses, medication adherence, and healthcare use across settings such as office visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a grocery benefit?
A grocery benefit can refer to support provided by a health plan to help eligible members buy nutritious foods. In a recent Elevance Health study, members who qualified based on household income received between $1,200 and $3,000 annually in grocery assistance that could be used at a variety of stores to buy items such as fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and whole grains.
How can a grocery benefit support people with diabetes?
A grocery benefit can support people with diabetes by making nutritious foods easier to pay for and access. In the Elevance Health study, enrollment in a health plan with a grocery benefit among people with diabetes was associated with improved adherence to diabetes medications and a decrease in diabetes with complications.
What other food-as-medicine benefits can health plans offer?
Other food-as-medicine benefits health plans can offer include produce prescriptions, medically tailored groceries or meals, and personalized, evidence-based nutrition counseling and education.