Food Is Medicine · Massachusetts

Massachusetts's path to covered nutrition.

One of the first and largest Medicaid Food Is Medicine programs in the country — and one of the best-evaluated.

The Program

MassHealth Flexible Services Program

MassHealth's Flexible Services Program (FSP), authorized under the state's Section 1115 demonstration, lets accountable care organizations partner with community organizations to deliver nutrition and housing supports to members with complex health-related social needs.

It is one of the most rigorously evaluated FIM programs in the country. A Health Affairs evaluation of more than 20,000 participants found program participation was associated with a 23% reduction in hospitalizations and a 13% reduction in emergency department visits. A separate Nature Medicine study of medically tailored meal recipients found 31% fewer hospitalizations, 20% fewer ED visits, and $3,433 lower healthcare costs — offsetting 98% of program cost.

Nutrition services covered

  • Medically tailored meals
  • Home-delivered meals
  • Food boxes & groceries
  • Produce prescriptions
  • Nutrition education
Source

Health Affairs — Medicaid Nutrition Supports in Massachusetts (2024)

Read the source ↗

Planning a nutrition benefit in Massachusetts?

FareRx partners with health plans and employers to deliver medically tailored groceries that members actually use — with first-party outcomes to prove it. See how we plug into a Medicaid or commercial nutrition benefit.