Philadelphia, PA — In partnership with the Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA), Health Partners Plans (HPP) will be delivering its one millionth meal to a local HPP member in Philadelphia this week. As MANNA’s first contracted partner, HPP has now provided one million medically tailored meals for Health Partners Medicaid members with complex health needs since 2015. HPP members who are referred to MANNA’s evidence-based nutrition program receive three healthy meals a day, seven days a week, at no cost to them.

Poor nutrition and food insecurity can lead to chronic health issues and in turn, a higher cost of medical services. HPP’s partnership with MANNA, also known as the Food is Medicine program, has helped members experience reduced hospital visits, shorter lengths of stay and increased likelihood of being released to their homes rather than a long-term care facility, resulting in lower overall health care costs.

“We have a strong history of launching community partnerships for the betterment of our members as the first managed care organization in Pennsylvania to provide medically tailored meals to its members with chronic conditions,” said Health Partners Plans President and CEO Denise Napier. “As we expand our commitment to social determinants of health, we are proud to celebrate this one millionth meal milestone and continue building upon our partnership with MANNA to address food insecurity and improve health outcomes for our members.”

Many people with severe illnesses are prescribed a specific diet as part of their treatment plan, but they do not have the resources available to comply. Through this partnership, HPP members are referred to MANNA’s program, which includes 21 medically tailored, home-delivered meals per week and nutrition counseling from registered dietitians.

“Our unique partnership with HPP is an effective health intervention grounded in the latest nutrition science,” said MANNA Chief Executive Officer Sue Daugherty, RDN, LDN. “We believe partnerships like this should become a standard of care across the health care system to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our community have access to the nutrition services they need to manage illness.”

A group of HPP employees volunteered at MANNA to package and prepare the one millionth meal to be delivered later this week.

ABOUT HEALTH PARTNERS PLANS

Health Partners Plans is a not-for-profit managed health care organization serving more than 259,000 members in Southeastern Pennsylvania. It provides a broad range of health coverage options through Health Partners Medicare, Health Partners (Medicaid) and KidzPartners (Children’s Health Insurance Program). Founded more than 30 years ago, Health Partners Plans is one of the few hospital-owned health plans in the country. Learn more about how to PartnerUp with Health Partners Plans, visit HealthPartnersPlans.com, twitter.com/HPPlans and facebook.com/healthpartnersplans.

ABOUT MANNA

MANNA is an essential service in the City of Philadelphia. Especially for people at acute nutritional risk due to life-threatening illnesses, MANNA prepares and delivers delicious nourishing meals and counsel, empowering individuals to battle illness and improve their quality of life. A small professional staff at 9,500 dedicated volunteers bring more than 150,000 nutritious, home-delivered meals each month to individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. MANNA dieticians promote wellness through nutrition education and counseling. Through these services, MANNA provides opportunities for caring people to extend loving support to families, friends, and neighbors. MANNA is spelled in all capital letters.