Point32Health has engaged Good Measures to provide food and nutrition assistance to eligible members, the companies announced Tuesday.
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Good Measures is a digital health company that supports patients with diet-related conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. It operates in all 50 states and serves Medicare, Medicaid, employers, providers and care management programs.
Point32Health, based in Canton, Massachusetts, is the parent company of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan. The partnership with Good Measures is open to fully insured commercial members of Harvard Pilgrim as well as self-insured members who choose Good Measures’ services. Approximately 500,000 members have access to this partnership.
Through the collaboration, members have access to the Good Measures app and can receive personalized nutrition advice from a Good Measures registered dietitian. Advisors can provide recommendations based on patients’ health conditions, goals, lifestyle and food preferences. Patients can contact their advisor by phone, app message or text message.
Additionally, members can set goals and track their progress in the app. The app also provides feedback on food choices, meal and snack recommendations, articles, and online courses. The program also includes tailored support for those taking or considering GLP-1. However, Good Measures does not prescribe GLP-1, and patients must obtain that prescription from their doctor.
“Our partnership aligns with the growing recognition in the healthcare community that nutrition plays a critical role in both the prevention and management of chronic disease,” said Donna K. Lencki, CEO of Good Measures, in an email. “As proactive health strategies become more prominent, payers and employers are implementing plans to help prevent and manage diet-related diseases and chronic conditions. … We also see this collaboration as part of the larger trend toward digital health tools that help individuals make informed decisions, ultimately leading to better health outcomes and contributing to a more sustainable approach to chronic disease management.”
Point32Health chose to partner with Good Measures because it “provided us with an effective program to help our members prevent and manage the risk of diet-related and cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity,” said Raj Hazarika, vice president and commercial chief medical officer of Point32Health, in an email.
There is no cost to members through the Good Measures partnership. The nutrition company will submit an annual medical claim for its services. To track the success of the partnership, Point32Health will track metrics such as member engagement, program demographics, health-focused outcomes (such as average weight loss or A1c changes) and member satisfaction, Hazarika said.
The partnership comes as several payers and healthcare organizations are making moves into the food-as-medicine space. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee recently signed a contract with FarmboxRx to deliver healthy food to its members. Kaiser Permanente, an integrated healthcare provider, opened its Food is Medicine Center of Excellence in April.
By partnering with Good Measures, Point32Health ultimately hopes to “deliver better health outcomes for our members, including successfully achieving their own health and nutrition goals and adopting healthier lifestyles,” Hazarika said.
Photo: vgajic, Getty Images
