Post discharge meals can help reduce readmission rates by addressing proper nutrition upon homecoming. Many times the newly released patient returns to an empty home, with sparse contents in cupboards and refrigerator. Not having healthy food to help the body regenerate after the hospital stay can cause relapses.
Providing these post-discharge meals means Health Insurance Companies will find significantly reduced readmissions. There have been several studies done now, and it has been shown that post discharge meals reduce readmittance by as much as 12%.
By providing limited meals (Typically 10 days’ worth of meals-either 1 or 2 meals per day) there are definite advantages for the patient and the Insurance Company. Several respected studies on the topic have shown that Health Insurance Companies are seeing a decrease in readmissions in the 11% - 12%+ range.
With Medicare clients, if the person goes back into the hospital within 30 days, the hospital is not reimbursed for expenses of the readmittance.
For Insurance Companies, readmission is money out of their pocket since readmissions for the same health issue are paid for by the Insurance Company not CMS, if they occur within a short period of time. Post-discharge meals make good monetary sense.
MKMeals.com provides healthy, quality and tasty meals for several different special diets, and we can get these meals delivered to your members anywhere in the continental United States within a few days. We are proud to step up with our dietitian designed meals for recovering patients, to help them sustain a healthier lifestyle!!
Some post discharge meal packages offer 10 meals, some offer 14 meals and some offer 20 meals – usually lunch and dinner – ours are customer based on what the hospital or payor wants.
For information on how Discharge Meals could assist your Health Insurance Company, request someone from the MKMeals.com team to contact you for more information.