4/16/25 –
When it comes to improving health, few opportunities are as obvious as Food Is Medicine (FIM). Nutritious food is essential to good health, and health-care organizations such as Centene are increasingly using FIM as a lever to drive better health outcomes and health-care savings.
This is especially critical in Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income Americans covering nearly one in five people in the US. Alarmingly, in 2023, 38 percent of households below the federal poverty level experienced food insecurity, highlighting the urgent need for effective interventions with a shared understanding of what actually improves health outcomes.
Food insecurity and poor nutrition are linked to chronic disease, higher health-care utilization, and increased costs. Research shows that people in food-insecure households spend roughly 45 percent more on medical care annually than their food-secure counterparts. Lower food security is also consistently associated with higher risks of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and more…
