Study Shows Food Benefits Management Company, Foodsmart, Saves CCHP $2.6M Annually on Medicaid and Exchange Members

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.

In Wisconsin, where CCHP members are served, more than 400,000 people struggle with food insecurity. Of the households that receive assistance through SNAP, more than 37% have children, resulting in over 140,000 minors struggling to meet their nutritional needs.

This is why Foodsmart and CCHP have continued to partner to provide foodcare across Wisconsin. As the largest food benefits management company in the U.S., Foodsmart handles all aspects of food benefits management, from setting members up for SNAP benefits to providing personalized nutrition plans that address food-related chronic conditions like diabetes.

“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.”

This study on the impact of the partnership was conducted by CCHP and Foodsmart from a matched pair controlled claims analysis, which ensures that the control group matches the non-control group (similar in age, gender, etc.) in order to account for any external discrepancies. The study showcases significant average claims savings for health plans, indicating savings of $32 PMPM for Medicaid members and $45 PMPM for Exchange members who participated in the Foodsmart-CCHP program.

“Our collaboration with CCHP has allowed us to reach Wisconsinites who would otherwise still be struggling with nutrition insecurity and the chronic illnesses that result from a nutrition-scarce lifestyle,” said Jason Langheier, founder and CEO of Foodsmart. “Health plans must focus on providing their members resources that will have the greatest positive impact on their long-term health. Our CCHP partnership proves that food benefits management programs can be implemented in a way that is both good for the member and saves the health plan money, creating a positive ROI for everyone involved.”

The joint effort sought to create a scalable solution addressing food insecurity and chronic conditions related to nutrition. Member benefits include:

• Unlimited, no out-of-pocket cost access to visits with a personal dietitian who will create customized programs based on the individual’s health conditions, tastes, and culture
• Access to thousands of affordable recipes
• An integrated healthy FoodsMART where members can compare prices on groceries between local stores and have food delivered via Instacart, Walmart, Amazon Fresh and Grubhub
• Savings of up to $42 per week on groceries through local grocery deals, coupons, and food delivery tools
• Support with enrolling in and utilizing SNAP/EBT benefits, which are now accepted by most national and regional retailers online
• Support locating available community resources

Foodsmart has continued to partner with Children’s Wisconsin to write foodscripts for its patients, many of whom are less than 18 years old, but also saw average savings of $24 PMPM through the CCHP/Foodsmart partnership.

The initiative has resulted in CCHP’s most adopted program to date. Over 10% of CCHP households signed up for the program, while others benefitted from the Foodsmart-CCHP partnership by gaining access to SNAP benefits, healthy recipes that fit a SNAP budget, grocery discounts, and educational programs.

By targeting food insecurity as a significant driver of nutrition-sensitive chronic conditions, greater savings were realized with members who had these specific conditions. Claims savings for members with diabetes was $107 PMPM, hypertension was $101 PMPM, and hyperlipidemia was $167 PMPM. Across all conditions, Foodsmart members had 12-month savings ranging from $62 PMPM to $871 PMPM. While this study is specific to CCHP members, the results align closely with other claims analyses evaluating the magnitude of Foodsmart’s programs’ impact on population health and cost of care.

By lowering the cost of claims for health plans, Foodsmart is further advancing accessibility to necessary food benefits for vulnerable communities impacted by food insecurity and poor nutritional health. The Foodsmart-CCHP partnership is a proven case for the impact such a program can have.

For more information on the Foodsmart-CCHP partnership, visit www.foodsmart.com/members/badgercare-chorus-community-health.

About CCHP:

CCHP is an insurance organization dedicated to providing its members access to the highest quality health care and supportive services in collaboration with providers and community partners. CCHP has more than 125,000 members participating the BadgerCarePlus program, nearly 3,000 youth in foster care through the Care4Kids program and more than 14,000 Individual and Family Plan members, both On and Off Exchange. Services provided through CCHP are customized to meet the unique needs of individual adult, children and family members and help empower them to take charge of their health and wellness.

About Foodsmart:

Foodsmart is on a mission to end nutrition insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. With the largest network of outpatient registered dietitians, FoodSMART telenutrition enables members to connect via phone or video to learn about personalized nutrition programs that consider individual health concerns, budget, cultural preferences, and lifestyle needs. Dietitians guide members to buy healthier food they can afford through the AI-enabled FoodsMART food marketplace, which is integrated with all national grocers, the largest restaurant network in the US, and local & national medically tailored food providers. By addressing food insecurity, diabetes, and many more nutrition related conditions, Foodsmart has demonstrated year one cost savings for health plans and employers of $25-$58 per member per month, backed by numerous randomized controlled trials and claims studies. Foodsmart’s programs are also proven to uniquely sustain weight loss that continues even after 3 years, making it a required companion to GLP-1 therapies. Foodsmart’s partnerships with thousands of health plans and employers mean that 99% of its more than 2 million members pay $0 out-of-pocket. To learn more about Foodsmart, visit www.foodsmart.com.

Contact Information

Melissa Mowery

PR for Foodsmart

VSC for Foodsmart

foodsmart@vsc.co