In an effort to drive fresh, healthy food consumption, Albertsons Companies has announced a set of new partnerships with Soda Health and global financial services technology leader FIS. Together, they will offer shoppers unique opportunities to save when adding nutritious food to their baskets.
“Expanding our benefit card partnerships are essential in ensuring that our customers have access to the broadest selection of nutritious food, supplements, and OTC medicine that improve their health and well-being,” said Omer Gajial, Executive Vice President of Pharmacy and Health at Albertsons. “We are striving to be more than just a neighborhood grocery store; we want to build a deeper connection with our customers, support them in their wellness journey, and address hunger in our most vulnerable communities.”
FIS represents supplemental health benefits administrators, including Fresh Connect, PayForward, and WEX™, according to a release. Soda Health works to improve health equity by tailoring benefits based on individual needs. With benefit cards from either of these companies, shoppers now have the ability to make purchases on eligible health and food items at Albertsons’ banner stores.
Health benefit cards are prepaid debit cards that are funded by Medicare Advantage plans, employers, healthcare providers, or local governments and can be used to make purchases of eligible over-the-counter medicine and wellness care products. This includes nutritious foods, whole grains, fish, and poultry.
Albertsons continues to partner with benefit card providers Solutran (S3), InComm (OTC Network), and Speak (formerly Speak Retail Group). Most national health plans, such as Aetna, Humana, United Healthcare, and Centene, and many regional plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield and Cigna, offer these benefits as well.
To read more about this program, click here.
Will other retailers follow Albertsons’ lead? Stick with Deli Market News to find out.
