5/29/2024 –
On May 29th, NPPC submitted a public comment in response to a CMS Request for Information regarding Supplemental Benefits in Medicare Advantage. Our comments focus on the need for the collection, distribution, and accessibility of data on supplemental benefits related to Produce Prescriptions. Here’s an excerpt from the comment:
“The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 expanded the types of supplemental benefits that may be offered by MA plans to chronically ill enrollees through Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI). Since then, there has been some anecdotal evidence that SSBCIs have begun to offer supplemental food and nutrition benefits and services, including PRx at significant scale. Given the important connection between nutrition and health for chronically ill Medicare populations, we urge CMS to collect programmatic data that will shed additional light on how MA plans, as a collective, have made food and produce offerings available to eligible Medicarebeneficiaries through SSBCIs.
Specifically, we encourage CMS to collect this data to better understand how SSBCI plans are currently utilizing “food is medicine” (FIM), such as PRx. We would also urge CMS to make that information available to public stakeholders (Medicare beneficiaries and researchers who are studying the impact of food and nutrition benefits on patient health and wellbeing), as well as exploring overall beneficiary satisfaction with these types of benefits. Consistent, clear, and transparent data on SSBCI offerings across MA plans would provide a wealth of information that will help to further encourage and enhance the adoption of these programs across both MA plans and eventually traditional Medicare.”
Click here to read the full letter.
