How Medicaid Helps Families Experiencing Food Insecurity

By Chris Plein, Ph.D., Rachel Brauner, and Lillian Byars, OneOp

Medicaid provides health insurance coverage to eligible families and individuals with low incomes and/or specific healthcare needs. Since its inception in 1965, Medicaid has provided a platform for individuals to access needed care and to offset the costs often associated with healthcare. By providing access to care, it can help families stay healthy and avoid costly medical bills that can contribute to food insecurity. Over time, Medicaid has focused on nutrition as a key factor in wellness and disease prevention.

Recently, this state-federal program has identified the need to address underlying factors that might affect overall health and well-being. Working with the states, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is focusing on underlying “health-related social needs” that can affect health and wellbeing. These factors include lack of access to affordable and nutritious food. Through established and new initiatives, Medicaid coverage can help address conditions where families might be experiencing food insecurity or other nutrition related challenges.

5 Examples on How Medicaid Can Help

1. Coverage for Preventative Care: Medicaid covers a range of preventative services, including annual check-ups, screenings, and immunizations. Various states have embraced prevention approaches that include nutrition and healthy eating education as part of their wellness and health promotion efforts.  According to recent research (Karaca-Mandic et al., 2023) these approaches are becoming more widely adopted in state Medicaid programs.
2. Treatment for Chronic Conditions: Medicaid can help families manage chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. Some states have adopted special nutrition benefits for those with chronic diseases, including providing meals as well as nutritional counseling and education. Data gathered by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows widespread adoption of special Medicaid “waiver” programs dedicated to these types of efforts.  
3. Support for Pregnant Women and New Mothers: Medicaid provides coverage for prenatal care and childbirth, as well as postpartum care for new mothers. By ensuring that pregnant women and new mothers have access to healthcare, Medicaid can help prevent complications and improve the health and wellbeing of both the mother and child. Medicaid may provide an added benefit to related programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Research has found that in combination, these programs can help foster food security (Neuberger and Hall 2022).
4. Assistance with Long-Term Care: Medicaid also provides coverage for long-term care services for eligible elderly and/or disabled individuals who require assistance with activities of daily living. This includes support for qualified individuals in long-term care facilities, as well as those eligible to receive home and community-based services. By providing this assistance, Medicaid can foster access to food and nutrition and reduce the financial burden on families and caregivers.
5. Special Health-Related Social Needs: In various states, Medicaid programs are initiating efforts to promote food access in order to address the underlying social determinants of health that affect individual, family, and community well-being. These efforts include the provision of “medically-tailored” meals for those with specific health conditions, supplemental funding to access food, transportation support for trips to grocery stores, and other services (see Armour and Peterson 2023).

In addition to these healthcare benefits, Medicaid program representatives often work with families struggling with food insecurity by connecting them to other resources. This can include referrals to food banks, nutrition education, and assistance with enrollment in other assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

Join us on April 28, 2023, for our Food Security in Focus webinar to learn more about Medicaid, Food Security, and the Social Determinants of Health and Well-being.

Resources and Bibliography

Armour, Stephanie and Kristina Peterson. 2023. “U.S. Begins Allowing Medicaid Money to Be Spent on Food.” Wall Street Journal (February 12).

Kaiser Family Foundation. 2023. “Medicaid Waiver Tracker: Approved and Pending 1115 Waivers by State.” Medicaid Waiver Tracker: Approved and Pending Section 1115 Waivers by State | KFF

Karaca-Mandic, Pinar et al. 2023. “Proposing and Innovative Bond to Increase Investments in Social Drivers of Health Interventions in Medicaid Managed Care.” Health Affairs 42(3): 383-391.

Neuberger, Zoe and Lauren Hall. 2022. WIC Coordination with Medicaid and SNAP. Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/...-medicaid-and-snap-0

U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 2022. “HHS Approves Groundbreaking Initiatives in Massachusetts and Oregon,” Press Release. HHS Approves Groundbreaking Medicaid Initiatives in Massachusetts and Oregon | CMS

U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. 2023. Medicaid. Medicaid.gov: the official U.S. government site for Medicare | Medicaid

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. 2023. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. 2023. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). About WIC | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov)