Embedding Strategies to Address Food Insecurity in Medicaid Managed Care Contracts 

Children and families enrolled in Medicaid face a high risk of food and nutrition insecurity. One approach to mobilizing Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to address health-related social needs (HRSN) is through Medicaid procurement contracts. This MFSN brief by Kathryn Jantz of Hearthwise Consulting and Julian Xie, former Medicaid and Food Insecurity Director at Share Our Strength, builds on two MFSN resources – Food is Medicine is Complementary with SNAP & WIC and Promising Medicaid-Based Strategies – by recommending food and nutrition strategies for Medicaid agencies to integrate into MCO contracts and mapping out specific components of contract language across key areas that could move MCOs to address food and nutrition insecurity, often without additional state spending.

Informed by a review of Medicaid contracts and other documents found on the Medicaid Food Security Policy Dashboard, this practical policy tool mirrors standard MCO contract categories:

• • • • • • Food Insecurity Screening and Referral
          • Assistance and Navigation
          • Quality Improvement, Population Health, And Social Drivers Of Health Plans
          • Investments and Benefits

It also provides a checklist of contract language elements designed to maximize contractual requirements.