Adopting more programs that make and deliver medically tailored meals to adults with serious, diet-sensitive diseases could result not only in improved health outcomes in the form of fewer hospitalizations nationally, but also in a net cost savings of approximately $13.6 billion each year. That is according to research from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
Medically tailored meals (MTMs) are healthy, home-delivered meals customized and fully prepared for individuals living with advanced illnesses, including diabetes, heart failure, end-stage renal disease, HIV, and cancer. The meals often serve to support those with lower incomes and limited mobility, as well as individuals who regularly experience food insecurity.
In the course of the research, scientists analyzed data drawn from a nationally representative survey on healthcare utilization and costs for American adults, the 2019 Medical Expenditure Survey Panel Survey, and from previously published research on the impact of MTM interventions.
They found that implementing additional MTM programs across the country could help prevent 1.6 million hospitalizations and save insurers a net amount of $13.6 billion per year after paying for the cost of food, with most savings occurring within the public health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid. Over a 10-year period, $185.1 billion less could be spent on health care, and nearly 18.3 million hospitalizations could be averted.
When researchers estimated the impact of MTM interventions over the past 20 years, home-delivered dishes were found to reduce annual health-care expenditures by 19.7% and annual hospitalizations by 47%. Program prices factored in a visit with a registered dietitian, nutritional tailoring, meal ingredients, and labor, administrative, and delivery costs.
“Food is not just for prevention—it can be used for treatment for people with debilitating conditions like heart failure, uncontrolled diabetes, HIV, and cancer,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food Is Medicine Institute and senior author for this research. “With medically tailored meals, patients are treated using the power of food and put on a steady path toward healing.”