Grocery stores are re-evaluating long-standing senior discount programs. A report from Saving Advice shows that following the 2024–2025 holiday season, several national chains have quietly reduced or eliminated senior-specific perks, including designated discount days and automatic savings at checkout.
Rising inflation, labor and distribution costs, as well as changing consumer demographics seem to make these once long-standing discounts untenable.While such factors are consistent with broader retail cost pressures, their downstream effects on seniors—particularly those on fixed incomes—are both predictable and significant.
Largely left out of the conversation, however, is what is replacing those senior discount days.
Historically, senior grocery discounts functioned as a low-friction affordability mechanism; a modest percentage reduction, for example 5–10%, applied automatically on a specific day of the week. There’s minimal customer action involved, and the discount is simply applied at checkout. Current retail strategies increasingly replace these programs with generalized loyalty systems, many of which are digital-first. Enrollment, tracking, and redemption are now done through mobile applications or online accounts.
This is part of an overall trend moving towards individualized pricing driven by behavioral incentives.
For businesses, this makes sense. Rather than simply offering a broad-class discount, it’s far more valuable for companies to capture what exactly those seniors are buying. And with the sometimes controversial growth of digitized pricing, we may see those discounts applied not at checkout but at product selection. But that data capture comes at a cost for seniors who may struggle with technology. Elimination of senior-discounts creates a service gap between those seniors who are digitally fluent and those who aren’t. Those struggles to navigate through an app (and speaking plainly, not every app is designed with seniors in mind), may turn into a struggle to afford groceries.
We’ve said it before and it bears repeating: technology is moving fast, and it’s changing how grocery savings are delivered. Digital loyalty tools can help retailers become more efficient, more knowledgeable, and more profitable—but when savings become “app-first,” seniors may be left out through no fault of their own.The result is a new kind of affordability gap: not based on what you buy, but on whether you can navigate the system.
At PHC, we’re a fintech company—we understand why data matters. But we also believe the benefits of modernization shouldn’t require seniors to trade away basic access to savings and affordability, especially as food costs remain elevated. When new systems unintentionally exclude the people who most need relief, it’s worth calling attention to the tradeoff.
We can’t and won’t pretend to be the solution to end all senior hunger. What we can do, in partnership with participating grocery stores and pharmacies, is help independent retailers accept OTC and healthy food benefits that eligible seniors already have.
If your store hasn’t activated these benefit programs yet, reach out to us to get set up—so your customers can use the resources available to them to help mitigate today’s grocery costs.
Understanding OTC and Healthy Grocery benefits can be challenging because insurers use different program names, combine or separate benefits in various ways, and frequently redesign their supplemental offerings. This article clarifies the most essential points: what these benefits are, who qualifies, and how both members and retailers can access and use them through ProHealth Connect.
ProHealth Connect is the leading acceptance platform for independents to accept OTC, grocery, flex, and wellness allowance programs across Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans.
Over-the-Counter (OTC) benefits are health-plan–funded allowances that members can use to buy non-prescription, health-related items. These benefits are provided by:
OTC benefits are not cash, EBT, WIC, or SNAP. They are insurance-funded and limited to items that support preventive care, chronic-condition management, and hygiene.
Common eligible items include:
Members receive these benefits automatically through their health plan—not through government programs or retailer enrollment.
Healthy grocery benefits are nutrition-focused allowances that help members purchase healthier foods. They address food insecurity, chronic disease, and nutrition needs.
Typical eligible items include:
These benefits are also insurance-funded, not EBT/SNAP/WIC.
Health plans may offer:
Because there is no industry-wide naming standard, different insurers use different terminology for the same types of benefits. One plan might call its program an “OTC + Grocery Card,” while another refers to a “Flex Card,” a “Wellness Allowance,” an “Essentials Card,” or a “Healthy Options Card.” This inconsistent naming makes it difficult for both members and retailers to understand what a card actually covers.
This terminology varies widely between insurers, but regardless of the card name, any eligible cards may be accepted with ProHealth Connect.
Eligibility depends on the member’s health plan, not the retailer.
A member qualifies if:
Members do not apply for these benefits at the store. They receive them automatically through their insurance plan.
To verify eligibility, members should contact their plan or check:
Retailers never determine member eligibility manually.
Consumers use their benefit in simple steps:
ProHealth Connect automatically handles:
Members and retailers don’t need to interpret plan documents or product lists. PHC’s system does it automatically.
Any retailer that sells eligible products can accept these benefits through ProHealth Connect.
Approved retailer types include:
Retailers do not need:
OTC and grocery benefits are insurance-funded, so the acceptance process is far simpler.
Retailers who want to accept OTC, healthy grocery, or combined benefits can enroll with ProHealth Connect through the following steps
Choose the appropriate form for your store.
Single-location retailers click the “Let’s Get Started” button, multi-location retailers click the "Multiple Locations? Click Here" button on the Retailer Page.
ProHealth Connect will respond within 24-48 hours with the PHC Contract.
The contract package will including the following:
Terminal will arrive in 8-10 business days, the PHC app can be downloaded immediately,
Training documents will be sent to your email or visit the Community Page for easy How-Tos
ProHealth Connect provides:
PHC is purpose-built to handle:
No matter what the plan calls the benefit, PHC interprets it and ensures proper acceptance.
You don’t apply at a store. OTC benefits come from your health insurance plan. Call your insurer to check eligibility.
OTC = health items. Healthy Grocery = nutritious foods. Some plans combine them into one benefit card.
Enroll with ProHealth Connect. PHC provides everything you need to accept OTC, grocery, flex, and wellness cards.
No. These are insurance-funded benefits, not government food assistance programs.
Because insurers use different names for similar benefits. ProHealth Connect handles all versions.
OTC and Healthy Grocery benefits vary widely across insurers, and the terminology is inconsistent across the industry. But ProHealth Connect unifies these rules, allowing:
ProHealth Connect is the national platform that connects insurance-funded benefit cards to retailers safely, accurately, and seamlessly.
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