“Medically Tailored” Meals Could Save Billions And Prevent Millions Of Hospitalizations

Voices for Affordable Health is keenly interested in new ideas that lead to lower health care costs.

But we have to admit that the concept of “medically tailored” meals was not on our radar screen.

Now it is. A  team at the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University recently published a study showing that meals designed to meet the specific needs of Americans with a range of health conditions – including diabetes, heart disease or cancer – could prevent more than 3.5 million hospital stays and save more than $30 billion in just one year.

The meals are designed for people who have difficulty completing daily tasks, such as shopping or cooking.

According to researchers, more than 14 million people in the United States would qualify. Many of them are already covered by programs such as Medicare or Medicaid, which means the government is already covering costs when they get sick.

Researchers developed a simulation model to predict how medically tailored meals designed by registered dietitians would affect patients in all 50 states. They considered the health of the population and the types of hospital systems available in each state. After running the simulation 1,000 times, they found that offering these meals would safe money in 49 states. Sometimes the per-patient savings were big, such as $6,299 in one year in Connecticut; $3,000 per patient in Washington and more than $1,000 in Utah and Idaho. Savings in Oregon were lower and less than $1,000.

Alabama was the only state where medically tailored nutrition was determined to be “cost neutral,” though the study suggested patients in Alabama as in every state  would see beneficial health benefits.

What do you think? Would you try a “medically tailored” meal if offered? Share your views with Voices for Affordable Health.