The “Food Is Medicine” movement is an approach to health care that seeks to improve patients’ health through nutrition. Not to be confused with unscientific claims that a proper diet can be a substitute for medicine, Food Is Medicine seeks to integrate nutrition into health care.
Massachusetts was one of the first states to incorporate a Food Is Medicine initiative into its Medicaid program via a Section 1115 demonstration waiver. A study published in Health Affairs in April 2025 evaluated the effects of that program on healthcare utilization and costs in the state over a three-year period (2020-2023).
Research Focus and Findings
The study population consisted of 20,403 Medicaid beneficiaries under age 65 who were eligible to receive nutritional services such as medically tailored meals, home-delivered meals, food vouchers, kitchen supplies, and nutritional education. The researchers compared individuals who received the assistance to individuals who were referred to a nutritional assistance program but chose not to participate.
The outcomes the study evaluated were hospital admissions, emergency department visits, primary care visits, and total healthcare costs. The researchers employed a method of comparison known as a difference-in-difference model, which assesses the change in the difference between two groups over time, specifically looking at the post-intervention period relative to the pre-intervention period. This is a strong research method because it is causal-based, i.e., it allows researchers to estimate causal relationships between variables, rather than simply comparing outcomes between two groups and estimating correlations or associations.
The study found that nutritional assistance resulted on average in a 23% reduction in hospital admissions and a 13% reduction in emergency department visits, but no significant change in primary care visits. In addition, the assistance resulted in an average of $2,500 less in per-person healthcare expenditures among individuals with more than 90 days of enrollment during the three-year study period. The average per-person cost of delivering the services was about $2,300, suggesting a net savings of $200 per person.
Insights For Arkansas
Arkansas does not provide Medicaid Food Is Medicine benefits, but the state’s Maternal Life360 HOME program, authorized under a Section 1115 waiver amendment, allows Arkansas Medicaid to provide services including nutrition assistance to mothers up to two years postpartum if they are experiencing or at risk of homelessness or have low levels of food security. Also, a Food is Medicine program through the Institute for Community Health and Innovation at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has partnered with food pantries to provide education and nutrition support to Arkansans with diabetes in Benton and Washington counties. An associated study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found improved hemoglobin A1c scores (i.e., healthier blood sugar levels) among participants after the intervention.
With federal Medicaid spending expected to decrease by $911 billion over the next decade, it may be worthwhile for policymakers in Arkansas, which has highest rate of food insecurity in the nation — an estimated 20% to 30% of Arkansans have some level of food insecurity — to consider extending the state’s Medicaid waiver to provide nutrition assistance in other contexts.
