Groceries and Savings Accounts thru Covered California

Covered California is facilitating the offer of grocery debit cards and toddler savings accounts for lower income households enrolled in a Covered California health plan. These programs will be administered by a company called Forward, a technology company that builds online enrollment portals.

The official names of the programs are Beyond Covered by Covered California: Grocery Support Program and Beyond Covered by Covered California: Child Savings Account Program. (Covered California page explaining the programs.) The two programs are funded by penalties levied on health plans for not making specific benchmarks related to health care such as controlling high blood pressure or colorectal cancer screening.

Grocery Debit Card Program

Covered California households with incomes below 250 percent of the federal poverty will be eligible for a reloadable debit card to purchase food. The monthly amount will be $80 for each eligible household member. Through the application process, it will be determined if the individual or family is experiencing food insecurity.

For example, a household of two adults and two children with an annual income under $78,000 (2024 FPL) could be eligible for $320 per month. At 250 percent of the federal poverty level, adults would be eligible for Covered California health plan with subsidies and children 18 years of age and younger would be Medi-Cal. However, the household size for Grocery Support Program is based on the tax household.

The program also has the option to pay the grocery dollars into either a monthly or annual distribution. Program documents do not address the issue of income fluctuations. For instance, if a household’s annual income decreases in the middle of the year, does the family get grocery assistance for the entire year or just for the months the income is below 250 percent?

Covered California is providing the funding and the database of potentially eligible households, but they are not involved in the eligibility and enrollment into the grocery program. The enrollment is left to Forward. Covered California will send the contact information for all household with an income under 250 percent FPL to Forward.

 Another population who will be invited to participate in the grocery program are individuals with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma as flagged by health care claims data. Another group will be individuals who reported a situation of food insecurity through survey called Hunger Vital Sign provided by Forward.

Forward will contact the potentially eligible households by email, text, or phone call. After individuals create an account at Forward, they will need to complete food security questions and agree to participate in the grocery program. If the individual or family is found eligible, the first debit cards will be sent out in March, 2025.

1. Households must be active Covered California consumers.
2. Only one member of the household can be enrolled in the grocery program. The monthly amount is based on the total household size.
3. Families can withdraw from the program at any time.
4. Participation will not affect Covered California or Medi-Cal enrollments.
5. The grocery program benefits are not taxable income because the money is considered a health plan benefit.
6. Participation in grocery program will not affect CalFRESH or SNAP.
7. The reloadable debit cards can be used at numerous grocery stores, but not at liquor stores. Money cannot be spent on alcohol, tobacco, gift cards, or non-food items.
8. Program funds are limited and are available on a first come, first served basis and will cease if funding is no longer available.

Beyond Covered Child Savings Account

Covered California consumers with children under the age of 2 may be eligible to participate in the Child Savings Account program. The child must have been born in California. Families can earn between $100 and $150 for each health care milestone of the child. The money is deposit into a CalKids account for the child. Some of the childhood health care milestones are getting vaccines such as Polio, MMR, and flu.

The company Forward will contact eligible households in Covered California with children who are 12 months of age or younger. However, children up to 2 years of age can be enrolled. The enrollment into the savings program must be completed by June 2, 2025, to be eligible.

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