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Delivering meals to vulnerable sick people might be a simple way to cut back on emergency room visits and hospitalizations, reining in some of the costliest kinds of medical care, according to a new Health Affairs study. Low-income seniors or disabled younger people who received home-delivered meals — particularly meals designed by a dietitian for that person's specific medical needs — had fewer emergency visits and lower medical spending than a similar group of people who did not receive meal deliveries. (Johnson, 4/2)

Imagine you are the tightfisted potentate of a small republic, plotting the least expensive way to care for subjects in fragile health who depend on your beneficence. You could watch while your subjects who are elderly or disabled (or both) scramble to find and pay for healthy meals. And you could open your checkbook each time one of these subjects lapses into a health crisis that calls for a trip to a hospital's emergency department in an ambulance. But you might just try feeding these needy subjects instead. (Healy, 4/2)

Good food isn’t just good for the body — it might also curb hospital stays and health care costs for some patients with chronic conditions, according to new research. The study, published Monday in Health Affairs, followed patients who received medically tailored meals from Community Servings. The Boston-based nonprofit has been dishing up chickpea curries, quinoa salads, and turkey chilis for nearly three decades to individuals with chronic diseases who have trouble shopping for and preparing meals. (Thielking, 4/2)