Point32Health has tapped Good Measures to bring food and nutrition support to eligible members, the companies announced Tuesday.
Boston, Massachusetts-based Good Measures is a digital health company that supports patients with nutrition-responsive conditions, including 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 available to Harvard Pilgrim fully insured commercial members, as well as self-insured accounts that opt in for Good Measures’ services. About 500,000 members have access to the partnership.
Reducing Clinical and Staff Burnout with AI Automation
As technology advances, AI-powered tools will increasingly reduce the administrative burdens on healthcare providers.
Through the collaboration, members have access to the Good Measures app and can receive personalized nutrition counseling with a Good Measures registered dietitian coach. The coaches can provide recommendations based on patients’ health conditions, goals, lifestyle and food preferences. Patients can contact their coach via phone, app messaging or text.
In addition, members can set goals and track their progress on the app. The app also offers feedback on food choices, meal and snack recommendations, articles and online classes. The program includes tailored support for those taking or considering GLP-1s as well. However, Good Measures isn’t prescribing GLP-1s, and patients will need to get that prescription through their healthcare provider.
“Our partnership aligns with the growing recognition in healthcare that nutrition plays a crucial role in both the prevention and management of chronic conditions,” said Donna K. Lencki, CEO of Good Measures, in an email. “As more emphasis is placed on proactive health strategies, payers and employers are implementing plans to help prevent and address diet-related diseases and chronic conditions. … We also see this collaboration as part of the larger trend toward digital health tools that support individuals in making informed decisions, ultimately driving better health outcomes and contributing to a more sustainable approach to chronic disease management.”
Point32Health chose to partner with Good Measures because it “stood out to us as an effective program to help our members prevent and manage the risk for nutrition-sensitive and cardiometabolic conditions, like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity,” said Raj Hazarika, vice president and commercial chief medical officer for Point32Health, in an email.
The Funding Model for Cancer Innovation is Broken — We Can Fix It
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
Members will have no out-of-pocket costs from 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 follow metrics like member engagement, program demographics, health-focused outcomes (such as average weight loss or changes in A1c level) and member satisfaction, Hazarika said.
The partnership comes as several payers and healthcare organizations are taking steps in the food-as-medicine space. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee recently contracted with FarmboxRx to provide healthy food deliveries to members. Kaiser Permanente, an integrated healthcare provider, launched its Food is Medicine Center of Excellence in April.
By working with Good Measures, Point32Health ultimately hopes to “see better health outcomes for our members, including successfully reaching their own health and nutrition goals and adopting healthy lifestyle changes,” Hazarika said.
Photo: vgajic, Getty Images