Medically tailored meals receipt and healthcare utilization and costs in Massachusetts’ Medicaid demonstration - Takeaways - MDSpire

Medically tailored meals receipt and healthcare utilization and costs in Massachusetts’ Medicaid demonstration

  • By

  • Kurt Hager

  • Matthew Alcusky

  • Fang Fang Zhang

  • Gary Sing

  • Arlene Ash

  • Eric Mick

  • Jean Terranova

  • Erin DiBacco

  • Stephanie Buckler

  • Allison Rich

  • Jessica Bowman

  • Sara Folta

  • Kim Prendergast

  • Jasper Frank

  • Cheryl Ball

  • Jenny S. Chiang

  • Dariush Mozaffarian

  • June 2, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    Poor diet significantly contributes to mortality and healthcare utilization, with food insecurity exacerbating health issues and costs.

  • 2

    Massachusetts Medicaid's Flexible Service Program authorized $149 million for food interventions, including medically tailored meals (MTMs) from 2017 to 2022.

  • 3

    MTMs are home-delivered meals customized by registered dietitian nutritionists for patients with diet-sensitive conditions and food insecurity.

  • 4

    The study evaluated healthcare utilization and costs among Medicaid members receiving MTMs compared to eligible non-recipients across 11 ACOs.

  • 5

    MTM recipients had similar hospitalization rates to comparators but incurred higher healthcare costs, with an average program cost of $3,512 per person.

Original Source(s)

Medically tailored meals receipt and healthcare utilization and costs in Massachusetts’ Medicaid demonstration

  • by Kurt Hager, Matthew Alcusky, Fang Fang Zhang, Gary Sing, Arlene Ash, Eric Mick, Jean Terranova, Erin DiBacco, Stephanie Buckler, Allison Rich, Jessica Bowman, Sara Folta, Kim Prendergast, Jasper Frank, Cheryl Ball, Jenny S. Chiang, Dariush Mozaffarian

  • June 2, 2026

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