Instacart Expands Grocery Accessibility for Seniors
Mindful of the connections – and potential gaps – between food, health, accessibility and affordability, Instacart has teamed up with InComm Payments to help older customers pay for groceries with supplemental health benefit cards.
Through a technical integration with that payments technology company, seniors who are members of participating Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and other eligible programs can use plan-sponsored funds to buy groceries as well as over-the-counter medications and wellness products for delivery via Instacart. The program begins on Jan. 1, 2024.
“Nutrition has a major impact on health outcomes, so it’s critical for health plans to ensure their members have the means to purchase food and sustain healthy diets,” said Brian Parlotto, EVP at InComm Payments. “Working with Instacart will help make groceries more accessible for our health plan partners and their members.”
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This is one aspect of Instacart's multi-pronged effort to literally and figuratively deliver more solutions to seniors. Also this week, Instacart reported that Alignment Health soon will offer Medicare Advantage plans for chronically ill seniors, allowing them to take advantage of Instacart grocery benefits. That plan will roll out beginning Jan.1 to seniors in parts of California and Nevada.
Currently, Instacart offers a Senior Support Service staffed by a team of specialists who can help customers age 60 and over set up their Instacart accounts, place orders and get their questions answered. Instacart also has expanded online SNAP benefits to all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
“We believe that greater access to essentials like nutritious food and over-the-counter goods can ultimately lead to better health outcomes, and we’re committed to partnering with companies like InComm Payments to help more people use their health benefits to get what they need delivered from the retailers they know and love,” explained Sarah Mastrorocco, VP and general manager of Instacart Health. “By accepting a variety of payment types on Instacart – from SNAP to health plan benefits – we’re taking another step towards ensuring every person has access to the essentials they need to thrive.”
San Francisco-based Instacart partners with more than 1,400 national, regional and local retail banners to deliver from 80,000-plus stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. In September, Instacart started trading under the ticker CART following a $30 per share price set for its initial public offering (IPO).
