About Fresh, the non-profit organization behind the Fresh Connect food prescription program, announced a new partnership with FIS that will add more than 10,000 grocery retail locations to its network. The new locations include large, national brands such as Albertsons, Kroger, and Walmart. Peyton Bigoa of Grocery Dive explains the program in additional detail:
“The expansion lets Fresh Connect consumers buy produce with a prepaid debit card at checkout. The cost of “eligible healthy foods” are automatically deducted from the customer’s total purchase price”
The program is funded through healthcare providers as a method of reducing overall healthcare expenses for individuals who may suffer from food insecurity issues. About Fresh touts its success in helping Medicaid-funded individuals get access to healthier food options, with a reported 74% of cardholders using their card and least once a month and spending upwards of 83% of their benefits.
The connection to the FIS Filtered Spend program enables Fresh Connect cardholders to have covered items deducted from their total spend, using the program funded prepaid card and then paying for the remainder of their groceries with personal funds.
This program capitalizes on trends in both healthcare and prepaid activity. Prepaid programs outside of typical healthcare items like Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts—specifically nutritional assistance programs—can benefit health-related outcomes through increased usage and may benefit from additional messaging. Javelin Strategy & Research data shows that government prepaid programs represent the second highest open-loop utilization among U.S. consumers in following consumer incentive and rebate programs. Additionally, recent research shows that low-income adults with access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program pay 25% less in annual healthcare costs than similar non-participants. Linking better access to important prepaid programs to secure nutritional assistance and access to critical food supplies increases the opportunities for individuals to reduce healthcare costs both to their insurers and out of pocket.
For About Fresh and its Fresh Connect program, the increased acceptance allows for expansion beyond Massachusetts which will enable broader proof of concept on the linking between access to better nutrition and reduced healthcare expenses. The program also could be a model for expansion of insurer provided wellness and rewards programs that reward individuals for healthy behaviors such as exercise, nutrition and preventative medical care.
Overview by Jordan Hirschfield, Director of the Prepaid Advisory Service at Javelin Strategy and Research.
