Use of a grocery card benefit by Medicare Advantage dual-eligible enrollees correlated to increased office visits, according to an October study from the Elevance Health Public Policy Institute.
“If you’re not as concerned about procuring food … you have more ability to turn attention to some of the other needs that you might have, whether that’s visiting your doctor or getting your annual wellness visit,” Jennifer Kowalski, the vice president of the Elevance Health Public Policy Institute, told Becker’s.
The study, published in the American Journal of Managed Care, reviewed eligible adults with continuous enrollment in Elevance Health-affiliated plans from 2021 through 2022. In the second year, adults in MA dual-eligible special needs plans had access to a grocery card benefit, a supplemental benefit designed to assist with food access, especially for low-income people and those with chronic conditions. The researchers then assessed claims data and individual-level spending on the cards.
The study found that those who leveraged this benefit were more likely to have annual wellness, primary care and specialist visits, with increases ranging from 4.9% to 6.6%. Frequent users of these grocery dollars — using more than half their allowance each month — had a small reduction in inpatient admissions compared to the group that was not taking advantage of the benefit.
However, the study did not find any significant differences with inpatient admissions and emergency department visits while comparing the overall use group and those who were not using the grocery card benefit.
“There’s skepticism out there as to whether some of these benefits are really valuable for members,” Ms. Kowalski said. “We want to make sure that the benefits that are truly making a difference to our members are still available to be offered.”
She believes this research affirms policy changes from 2019 and 2020 that permitted more flexibility with the types of benefits MA plans can offer. She said these insights could ultimately shape discussions in Washington, D.C., on standardizing benefit packages.
In terms of future inquiry, Ms. Kowalski would like “to look longer over time” to see how costs and savings could be associated, especially when it comes to inpatient admissions and emergency department utilization as care becomes more routine.
