Key Takeaways:
The Medicare grocery allowance is available with certain Medicare Advantage plans.
If you qualify for a grocery allowance, you’ll receive a prepaid card to use on healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, eggs, dairy products and meat.
Amounts vary, but the monthly grocery allowance can range between $25 and $200 per month.
....................
How Does the Medicare Advantage Grocery Allowance Work?
In most cases, enrollees receive a prepaid card, often called a Medicare food card. Your grocery allowance is typically credited to the card on a monthly basis, says Whitney Stidom, vice president of sales and operations with eHealth Inc., a health insurance broker and online resource provider headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
The food allowance card makes it easy to pay for groceries at the store, but don’t confuse this card with a Medicare flex card, which some Medicare Advantage plans also offer, advises Bob Rees, chief sales officer with eHealth, Inc.
The Medicare flex card is a prepaid card that you can use to pay for certain health care services and products, such as hearing aids, eyeglasses and over-the-counter medications. The concept of using a Medicare flex card at the store to cover your expenses is similar to the grocery allowance but follows different rules.
What Is the Average Medicare Grocery Allowance?
The dollar value of the Medicare grocery allowance varies from plan to plan, typically ranging between $25 and $200 or more per month, Stidom says.
Some unscrupulous marketers try to make it sound like the dollar value is significantly higher, but the benefit is typically fairly modest.
The allowance also needs to be used within the month – the money doesn’t typically roll over from one month to the next. In other words, use it or lose it.
I think one can self insure for food......................
In addition, keep in mind that the grocery benefit is not part of original Medicare. If someone is trying to offer you a debit card for groceries, it’s probably a scam.
Is the Grocery Allowance Available Every Year?
If you rely on a Medicare grocery allowance, “pay careful attention during this fall’s annual enrollment period,” Rees advises. “Due to changes in federal regulations, some plans offering grocery allowances in 2024 may be forced to drop that benefit in 2025.”