, /PRNewswire/ – Foodsmart, the leading telenutrition and foodcare provider nationwide, is expanding access to its GLP-1 Companion Care program after validating savings of $2,000 per GLP-1 patient annually versus those using medication alone. With the CMS announcement of expanding GLP-1 access for Medicaid and Medicare members who are trying to manage obesity, Foodsmart can deliver significant health improvements for patients, meaningful ROI for payers, and better care for providers and the pharma value chain.

Programs like Foodsmart’s uniquely validated nutrition and lifestyle management approach – known as foodcare – are essential to ensuring patients utilizing these medications achieve long-term success. While GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy are highly effective at enabling meaningful weight loss that supports treatment of diabetes and heart disease, patients without adequate companion foodcare struggle with side effects which reduce adherence, or lose too much muscle and bone versus fat, leading to poor long-term outcomes. Further, after stopping treatment, many see weight regain if they have not engaged in foodcare alongside drug treatment. Foodcare programs were designed to target these challenges and support patients in developing healthy habits; this is why Foodsmart sustains the impact from their GLP-1 treatment.

With obesity affecting 40% of American adults and driving chronic disease, access to these potentially life-changing medications – and support from companion nutrition and lifestyle management programs, as required by the FDA label and CMS announcement – are vital. The price reductions will enable Medicare and Medicaid to cover obesity drugs for adults at a dramatically lower cost to taxpayers, while expanding access to care. But, if not paired with foodcare, long-term results can worsen for patients. Foodsmart’s coupling of medication with necessary lifestyle changes represents a historic opportunity to reverse the obesity epidemic and associated chronic disease crisis while preserving health gains long-term.

Foodsmart’s GLP-1 Foodcare Companion Care program is specifically designed to support members throughout their entire treatment journey, addressing the key challenges that payers are grappling with as GLP-1 demand soars:

• Care Plan Adherence: The program reduces treatment dropoff rates and helps minimize medication side effects, directly improving care plan adherence.
• Maximizing Clinical Impact & Persistence: It equips members to make necessary lifestyle changes for optimal GLP-1 efficacy, focusing on crucial areas like maintaining bone density and muscle mass during rapid weight loss.
• **Sustaining Long-Term Cost Savings and Results: **Foodsmart sets members up for sustained weight and fat loss, critically ensuring they retain results even after transitioning off medication.

“The science has become increasingly clear: while GLP-1 medications are amazing spark plugs for weight loss, pairing them with foodcare – as the FDA intended and CMS reaffirmed – is essential to creating sustainable improvements in weight, body fat percentage and insulin sensitivity while avoiding muscle and bone wasting that accelerate aging,” said Jason Langheier, MD, MPH, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Foodsmart. “Whether $3,000 or $15,000 a year, GLP-1s are a major investment – so it’s critical that they improve health outcomes and healthcare costs for the long-run, not just short-term weight changes. GLP-1s are well designed drugs that create a profound opportunity to rewire the mind and body to adapt to healthier foods with the support of dietitians helping people on their journey.”

Through a match-paired controlled claims study, Foodsmart demonstrated cost savings of $168 PMPM – $2,000 annually – from medical and pharmacy savings. These savings are attributed to increased treatment adherence and development of healthy habits – including nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management – that sets members up for greater long-term success than GLP-1 medications alone. Foodsmart’s comprehensive telenutrition solution combines visits with a Registered Dietitian, access to nutrition and healthy eating tools, and food-as-medicine benefits. Additionally, Foodsmart’s history of supporting Medicaid, Medicare, and D-SNP members and blue collar workers translates to the care delivered within and between nutrition visits – ensuring care is tailored to members who need the most support.

To learn more, visit https://foodsmart.com/health-plans/glp-1

About Foodsmart

Foodsmart is the leading foodcare platform in the U.S., powered by a national network of Registered Dietitians and designed to make eating well accessible and affordable for everyone. Through foodcare—an integrated approach that combines evidence-based medical nutrition therapy, sustainable behavior change tools, and personalized food benefits management—we help members make healthier choices and achieve lasting results. Each member’s care plan is tailored to their unique health needs and supported by an ongoing relationship with their dietitian and seamless access to food benefits and incentives. Learn more at https://foodsmart.com/health-plans/glp-1

SOURCE Foodsmart