Dive Brief:

• Albertsons and NationsBenefits have linked up to let members of the supplemental benefits and fintech healthcare solutions provider purchase groceries across all the supermarket operator’s banners, according to an emailed press release.
• Eligible members can use health plan-sponsored funds distributed via NationsBenefits’ benefits card to buy groceries as well as wellness products.
• The partnership comes at a time when grocers and grocery e-commerce providers are quickly expanding their acceptance of supplemental health benefits.

Dive Insight:

The partnership builds on Albertsons’ efforts to expand its health benefits card partnerships.  

NationsBenefits’ portal lets members search and shop for groceries and wellness products, manage spending allowances and track orders in real time. As of Monday, members can now place orders for Albertsons through the NationsBenefits Benefits Pro Portal marketplace feature.

Irina Pelphrey, vice president of health and managed care at Albertsons, said in a statement that the tie-up expands access to essential groceries for Medicare Advantage members.

“This collaboration underscores our commitment to enhancing the well-being of our communities and ensuring that individuals have convenient access to the items they need to support their health and wellness,” Pelphrey said. 

Last April, Albertsons linked with fintech company FIS to expand acceptance of supplemental health benefits and also announced it started accepting benefit cards from Soda Health, which has tailored benefits for individual needs. The year prior, the grocer began accepting supplemental benefits to pay for over-the-counter medications and fresh produce.

While not new, programs funding healthy benefits have rapidly proliferated in the last few years and are creating tailwinds for retailers, consulting firm Oliver Wyman wrote last year. Nearly all (99.9%) Medicare Advantage plans offered supplemental benefits in 2023, compared with 73% in 2019, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report cited by the firm. 

Some Medicare Advantage plans offer grocery allowances through prepaid debit cards, according to AARP, which noted that the healthy foods benefit is available to members with certain chronic conditions. 

While the healthy benefits market is booming, the inability to process healthy benefits cards is a major hurdle for retailers, as are confusion about item eligibility and the burden of processing costs and interchange fees, Oliver Wyman noted.

Earlier this year, Southeastern Grocers and then Instacart started offering grocery delivery to members of various health plans through a partnership with NationsBenefits. Dollar General also recently started accepting supplemental health benefits for customers to pay for items like produce, over-the-counter medicines and wellness products at all of its 20,000 stores.