California Statewide MediCal Pilot

About

In the 2017-2018 budget, California’s legislature approved $6 million to conduct the first-in-the-nation statewide pilot of medically tailored meals. The pilot was overseen by the Department of Health Care Services who also determined the target population: MediCal members with congestive heart failure. Six community benefit organizations that are providers of medically tailored meals, including Community Project, took part in the pilot from April 2018 through December 2021.

Partners

  • Ceres Community Project in Marin and Sonoma          

  • Food for Thought  in Sonoma                   

  • The Health Trust in Santa Clara

  • Mama’s Kitchen in San Diego

  • Project Angel Heart in Los Angeles

  • Project Open Hand in Alameda and San Francisco

Patients & Intervention Design

During the pilot, a total of 1,168 MediCal members with congestive heart failure were enrolled. Participants could receive up to 21 meals per week for 12 weeks, with 14 meals per week being the minimum. They were also offered three visits with the registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). 65.2% of participants completed the full intervention. In total, the agencies provided 214,291 meals and 2,245 medical nutrition therapy sessions or 183 meals and 1.9 RDN sessions per participant.

Results

The evaluation of the pilot is being conducted by Mathematica on behalf of the Department of Health Care Services. Results are expected to the department by the end of 2022. Early results of the pilot, provided by Mathematica, showed positive results and helped encourage DHCS to include medically tailored meals as one of the fourteen Community Supports benefits now available through MediCal.