Southeastern Grocers helps customers make health insurance benefits go farther

A new partnership by Southeastern Grocers (SEG) will allow customers to tap health insurance benefits for more than just medical care.

Jacksonville, Florida-based SEG has joined the InComm Healthcare OTC Network, which enables health plans to offer members supplemental benefit cards for the purchase of healthy food and wellness products at participating retailers. Using InComm Payment’s Dual Network Benefit Card, shoppers at Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Más supermarkets across the Southeast can buy items with funds from Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and employer-sponsored or private health plans.

“We are dedicated to providing the best customer experience possible, so we are excited to now accept these benefit cards in our stores,” Gayle Shields, chief of stores and pharmacies at Southeastern Grocers, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with InComm Healthcare and helping our customers as they seek convenient ways to support healthy habits.”

InComm said health insurance providers can configure its Dual Network to offer a wide range of supplemental benefits. / Image courtesy of InComm Payments

Items that can be purchased with the Dual Network Benefit Card range from over-the-counter medicines, health and personal hygiene products, and groceries to delivered meals and produce, dental/vision/hearing services, home health care and transportation. They also can receive incentives and rewards through the card as well as use it to make internet and utilities bill payments.

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Cardholders can use the benefit funds to buy products and services configured to the health plan’s card. Atlanta-based InComm Payments noted that the Dual Network Benefit Card gives insurance provider the ability to easily add more than one supplemental benefit, reward or healthy foods program to a single member card.

Accepted at more than 68,000 retail locations in the OTC Network, the cards are loaded with more than $2 billion in supplemental benefit funds each year, InComm reported.

“A significant segment of the Medicare Advantage plan members we serve live in the Southeast, so this new partnership will ensure those members can use their benefit cards at grocery stores conveniently located in their communities,” stated Brian Parlotto, executive vice president at InComm Payments. “We are grateful to SEG for their collaboration as we expand accessibility to healthy foods for these plan members.”

Overall, Southeastern Grocers operates about 420 supermarkets under the Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Más banners in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.

Related:Aldi to acquire Southeastern Grocers’ Winn-Dixie, Harveys supermarkets