Before you know it, October will be here and with it, the annual enrollment period (AEP). Millions of consumers will be assessing their current Medicare plans or shopping for a plan for the first time. As they sift through the many Medicare Advantage plans on the market, they’ll be looking for enticing, budget-friendly supplemental benefits that make MAOs stand out.
As you prepare to enroll new members and work to retain those you have, have you considered what you would do differently for the 2024 AEP to remain competitive? How will you address the primary challenge of enhancing benefits while reducing costs to the plan?
The case for medically tailored meals as an MAO supplemental benefit
- supplemental benefits drove member growth and
- the meal benefit was among the most popular of those drivers—for both post-discharge periods and chronic medical conditions.
More MAOs are Offering a Supplemental Meal Benefit
The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that in 2021, 55% of Medicare Advantage plans offered meal benefits which included nutrition education, cooking classes, or meal delivery plans. In 2022, the Better Medicare Alliance found that 69% of MA plans offered a meal benefit to seniors. Additionally, certain individuals with chronic medical conditions (such as congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease, or diabetes) may be eligible for meal benefits through a Special Needs Plan (SNP).
MAOs are adding medically tailored meals to their benefits for several other compelling reasons:
- A study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association noted if payers provided medically tailored meals to members with diet-sensitive conditions and activity limitations, they could save $13.6 billion annually, as this benefit reduces hospital readmissions and emergency room visits.
- Specifically, the findings concluded, “In observational studies and pilot randomized clinical trials, patients receiving [medically tailored meals] experienced better disease management and had fewer hospitalizations, emergency department admissions, nursing home visits, and lower health care expenditures compared with similar control patients.”
- Fully prepared, nutritious meals underscore the “food as medicine” trend; as such, they are especially beneficial to members who fall in the SSBCI category and struggle with multiple health conditions such as diabetes, renal disease or renal failure, cancer, and congestive heart failure and other cardiac conditions.
- Home-delivered, nutritionally balanced meals are a critical component in addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH).
Make a Difference in This Year’s AEP: Offer the LiveWell with Traditions Meal Benefit
LiveWell with Traditions is significantly different from other meal vendors. For one thing, our service was purpose-built for MAOs to address the challenges associated with improving benefits while containing costs. And our program is designed to enhance and improve clinical outcomes, specifically for those with chronic illness, during the post-acute discharge period, and dual-eligibility spaces.
In short, we deliver medically tailored meals directly to MAO members, by our associates, at cost savings to the plan. And unlike other meal vendors, our unrivaled scale means no supply chain, manufacturing, and distribution issues that plague the industry.
The Advantages of Meal Delivery from LiveWell with Traditions
- Direct-to-door, last-mile delivery of medically tailored meals – a high-touch delivery model with 700+ well-trained drivers
- A lower price point thanks to our scaled production of over 70 million meals per year
- Specialty menus designed by our in-house team of registered dietitians to address specific chronic conditions and help improve clinical outcomes
- A superior service experience for all stakeholders that optimizes Stars and CAHPS, and that delivers full visibility and confidence for your team through the entire process and relationship
- National reach through 40+ distribution sites across the lower 48 states – so you work with a single vendor with a nationwide footprint
- Rich reporting on program usage, service experience, and observational notes on member health
- HIPAA and HITECH compliance readiness – our IT policy and proprietary software exceed HIPAA/HITECH compliance standards, and we deploy flexible, secure data exchange options for eligibility, discharge, billing, and reporting
- Rich reporting and 24/7 access to our highly secure web portal – run real-time, customized reports on program usage, service experience, and customer call center metrics, and pull actionable data that provide visibility into your meal benefit, observational notes on your members’ health, and customized billing and SLA options.
- SDOH program effectiveness
- popHealth integration
What Will Your MAO Do Differently for AEP 2024?
Providing meals for those with chronic conditions delivers a competitive advantage and cost savings for your plan and a vital wellness advantage to members, by helping to reduce and avoid hospitalizations. Contact LiveWell with Traditions to find out how our meal program will help your MAO keep disenrollment, enhance revenue, and manage costs.
