Food insecurity is a critical challenge facing seniors, and SCAN Health Plan is teaming up with Instacart to roll out a new grocery benefit as part of its 2025 Medicare Advantage plan lineup.
Karen Schulte, president of SCAN's Medicare division, told Fierce Healthcare in an exclusive interview that data suggest 9 million seniors either have faced food insecurity or will face it by 2050. And people who may be unable to access healthy meals are far more likely to develop diabetes and other chronic conditions, she said.
It's against this backdrop that SCAN is launching the grocery allowance benefit for its 2025 Medicare Advantage plans. Through the program, members will have access to a stipend to use through Instacart.
They'll be connected to a curated selection of food options that are designed around dietary needs for chronic conditions like diabetes. The offering is also designed to be culturally sensitive with tailored food options.
This makes it easier for people with chronic needs to identify cultural food options that can align with the diet they need to follow, according to SCAN.
Schulte said building benefits like this with health equity in mind is critical for the SCAN team, and addressing disparities is a central goal.
"Health equity has just been in the DNA of SCAN for some time, and over the years, we've launched various initiatives to address health disparities," Schulte said. "So we're continuously looking to innovate, tailor products and benefits wherever we can to help make that goal a reality."
Beyond the potential to address the needs of diverse and underserved populations, Schulte said the benefit was also developed in direct response to feedback from SCAN's members about what they're looking for to maintain a high quality of life.
She said members consistently say they want to find ways to save money and remove barriers to their needs. Having a program that includes home grocery delivery does tackle some of those challenges such as lack of transportation to a store or physical limitations that may make shopping difficult.
Schulte said that Instacart made for the right partner because it's making a push into healthcare that is genuinely about improving health.
"What stood out to us with Instacart in particular is that they're not just a home delivery vehicle that happens to intersect with healthcare," she said. "They are intentional about wanting to be in healthcare."
She added that SCAN is already brainstorming ways to build on this partnership and develop additional benefits. For example, the home delivery option may provide multiple boons to members. Many seniors live on their own, with loneliness and isolation a growing issue.
Having a person drop off their groceries directly, even for a brief visit, can make for a friendly face that helps alleviate some of that loneliness, Schulte said.
"That one minute of interaction makes a world of difference to a senior who might be living alone in their home and they don't get out," she said.