Data on Diabetes Research Described by Jeff Romine et al (Insurance-Provided Grocery Assistance and Health Care Outcomes Among Patients With Diabetes): Diabetes Research

2026 SEP 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators publish new report on Diabetes Research. According to news reporting originating from Wilmington, Delaware, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “To examine the association between a health insurance plan offering a grocery assistance benefit to members with diabetes and their health care use and outcomes. This retrospective, observational study used administrative claims to examine the associations of receiving grocery assistance provided by a health plan and health care use among patients with diabetes.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research, “A new health plan with low premiums and a grocery benefit (the intervention) was offered to a select group of members in 2021 and 2022. The intervention group examined in this study was made up of members with diabetes who selected the new health plan with the grocery benefit; the control group consisted of members with diabetes who were eligible for but chose not to select the new health plan with the grocery benefit. We used a doubly robust inverse probability weighted difference-in-differences design to analyze the impact on health care use, including inpatient and outpatient utilization and medication adherence, and on health outcomes, including those related to diabetes complications. The intervention group saw an associated decrease of 3.1 percentage points in the prevalence of diabetes with complications. We also found significant associated increases in adherence to diabetes medications. No significant associated changes in health care service utilization or other health outcomes were observed. Providing low-touch grocery assistance to members with diabetes improved management of diabetes complications. The findings suggest that integrating nutritional benefits into health plans may enhance health outcomes without increasing overall health care utilization.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Further research is needed to explore the long-term impact and scalability of such interventions.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Insurance-Provided Grocery Assistance and Health Care Outcomes Among Patients With Diabetes. The American Journal of Managed Care, 2026;32(8). The American Journal of Managed Care can be contacted at: Managed Care & Healthcare Communications Llc, 666 Plainsboro Rd, Ste 300, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Jeff Romine, Carelon Research, 123 Justison St, Ste 200, Wilmington, DE 19801. Additional authors for this research include Winnie Chi, Kofi Essel, Renee Mullikin, Donna Gibson and Shantanu Agrawal.

Publisher contact information for the The American Journal of Managed Care is: Managed Care & Healthcare Communications Llc, 666 Plainsboro Rd, Ste 300, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)