KROGER has expanded its healthcare services with a new partnership to provide eligible customers with medically tailored meals.

The chain’s chief commercial officer says the company is taking a “personalized approach” to health.

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Kroger Health has announced a new partnership with Performance Kitchen that will offer medically tailored meals (MTMs) to customers with chronic conditions.

The healthcare arm of the national grocery chain is expanding access to these healthy products.

Some insurance companies will pay for the meals to help their members address chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and renal disease.

Kroger will pair these MTMs with its other health services like virtual appointments with registered dietitians.

Patients who are eligible through their insurance or state program will enjoy healthy meals such as chicken dijon with kale, vegetable chickpea curry, and salmon pasta.

All meals are frozen, single-serve, and ready to heat.

WHY MTM?

MTM programs could help prevent 1.6 million hospitalizations and save health insurers $13.6 billion across the country in one year after paying for the cost of food, according to a recent study by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

“Offering MTMs allows us an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to supporting individuals on their wellness journeys, while providing a personalized approach to help them transform their health,” said James Kirby, chief commercial officer at Kroger Health.

WALMART HEALTH CUTS

Customers might have seen Performance Kitchen meals in the frozen section at Walmart.

But this grocery chain has recently made million-dollar cutbacks to its health services.

Opening hours have been reduced by two hours at around 4,500 Walmart pharmacies.

Hiring managers have also been asked to start hiring pharmacists at lower base hours to save money for the company.

At the same time, there is an industry-wide shortage of pharmacy technicians, according to Michael Hogue, chief executive officer of the American Pharmacists Association.

PHARMACY CLOSURES

Meanwhile, many pharmacy chains across the US are closing down locations permanently.

For example, CVS is on a spree of shuttering stores nationwide, with plans to close 300 by the end of 2024.

Meanwhile, Rite Aid is on the edge of bankruptcy, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The company said in June that its potential 2024 losses were “expected to be between approximately $650million and $680million.”

Walgreens is in the process of shuttering 150 stores nationwide.

And a regional grocery chain with over 500 locations has announced it is closing down all pharmacies due to a historic merger.

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