Impact of Medically Tailored Meals on Obesity, Other Health Outcomes, and Healthcare Utilization under Medicaid Flexible Services Summary/Abstract Medically tailored meal (MTM) interventions are of rapidly growing interest to healthcare systems, payers, patients, and policy makers. MTMs are fully prepared, nutritionally customized, and generally home-delivered healthy meals for individuals living with advanced and costly diet-sensitive conditions, such as diabetes, heart failure, end stage renal disease, HIV, and cancer. Meal plans are designed by a registered dietitian nutritionist based on diagnoses and nutritional assessment. Several preliminary studies have suggested that MTM programs can reduce healthcare utilization and healthcare costs for high-risk patients. Impacts on obesity, glucose control, and related health outcomes have not been evaluated. This collaborative initiative will assess the impacts of MTMs on obesity, diabetes control, blood pressure, healthcare utilization, and healthcare costs under an ongoing Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Medicaid pilot involving multiple hospitals in the state. This is a scientifically compelling research opportunity with national relevance, bringing together researchers, community-based organizations, large nonprofit health care systems, and state government.

Impact of Medically Tailored Meals on Obesity, Other Health Outcomes, and Healthcare Utilization under Medicaid Flexible Services Project Narrative This collaboration will evaluate, in the largest study of its kind to date, the impact of medically tailored meals (MTMs) on (a) obesity, diabetes control, and blood pressure, (b) healthcare utilization and healthcare costs, and (c) food security and nutrition security. This research will develop important, timely, high-impact evidence on the potential effectiveness of this innovative intervention to improve health outcomes and reduce utilization in Medicaid patients with medical and social challenges. The results will help scientists, healthcare systems, payers, and policy makers understand the impact of MTMs on obesity, diabetes, and other clinically and policy-relevant outcomes in low-income Americans; compile evidence on the largest MTM intervention in the US to inform future healthcare delivery; and highlight innovations to improve nutrition security and reduce health disparities.