The inability of seniors enrolled in Medicare
to get the food they need is a problem for nearly one in 10 enrollees 65 years
of age and older, a new analysis shows.
The issue of food insecurity has emerged as a
healthcare concern and is now on the radar of health insurance companies,
Medicare and Medicaid administrators as a way to get seniors better care.
Research published Monday in JAMA
Internal Medicine shows “nearly 1 in 10 Medicare enrollees age
65 and over and 4 in 10 enrollees younger than 65 with long-term disabilities
experience food insecurity,” the inability to get adequate food for financial
reasons.
“These findings highlight the appropriateness
of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intensifying focus on
social determinants of health, exemplified by the accountable heath communities
model, which targets dual enrollees, and the recent expansion of allowable
supplemental benefits in Medicare Advantage plans,” Jeanne Madden a professor of pharmacy at
Northeastern University in Boston and her colleagues wrote in
the research letter published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicine Services
has changed rules to allow private Advantage plans that contract with the
government to provide health benefits to seniors to cover more supplemental
benefits. It’s a key reason why seniors are flocking to Advantage plans sold by
CVS Health unit Aetna, UnitedHealth Group, Humana, Cigna and array of Blue
Cross and Blue Shield plans and startups that are beginning to offer more
supplemental health benefits like food delivery, access to ride-share
transportation and other new ways to make sure patients are getting screened
and getting care in the right place and at the right time.
The study indicates there’s an opportunity for
Medicare and private Advantage plans to help seniors get better care upfront
and avoid a more serious and costly illness in the future.
“Food insecurity screening and referral
programs in clinical settings may benefit from recognition of high-risk patient
groups,” Madden and her colleagues write in JAMA Internal Medicine. “Auto
enrollment and smoother recertification of low-income individuals could help
make public efforts like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and
home-delivered meals even more effective. All health system innovations,
including direct food provision (eg, through medically tailored meals,
outpatient food pharmacies, and care packages at hospital discharge),1 require
rigorous evaluations before broader implementation.”
For the study, researchers examined 2016 data
from a survey of more than 9,000 Medicare beneficiaries analyzed for risk
“factors found that lower incomes, reporting four or more chronic condition
diagnoses, and having symptoms of depression or anxiety were each independently
associated with food insecurity in both age groups.”
Health insurance companies say they are
intensifying their efforts to screen for social determinants of health,
including food insecurity.
At Humana, for example, the health insurer launched
several years ago a “Bold Goal” initiative addressing food insecurity and
social isolation as primary areas of need for certain seniors enrolled in its
Medicare plans.
“Food insecurity is a leading barrier to
achieving good health among all populations, particularly with seniors,”
Humana’s Chief Medical and Corporate Affairs Officer Dr. Will Shrank said. “We
have seen firsthand that seniors who suffer from food insecurity have had to
forgo their daily medicines so they can eat, which can then negatively affect
their ability to manage diabetes. It is clear that seniors’ basic needs are not
being met, compounding the challenges of managing their complex medical
problems.”
No comments:
Post a Comment