Home / Medicare / Optum Healthy Groceries Card: How It Works and How to Get One (2027)

Optum Healthy Groceries Card: How It Works and How to Get One (2027)

By Brian Monahan Updated October 26, 2026

Updated October 26, 2026. There’s no Optum groceries card you can apply for on your own. Optum Financial runs the card programs behind many health plan benefits, including Healthy Benefits+ (formerly Solutran) and the UnitedHealthcare UCard, and your health plan or employer decides whether you get grocery money on that card. For Medicare Advantage members, healthy food money is usually limited to people with a qualifying chronic condition, and for 2027 UnitedHealthcare will require verification of that condition.

Quick answer: If you have a card that says Optum, Healthy Benefits+ or UCard, sign in at the website printed on the back of the card or in your plan’s app to see your balance and eligible items. If you don’t have one, the way to get grocery money is to enroll in a plan that offers it and meet the plan’s rules. Compare 2027 Medicare Advantage plans during Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7, 2026.

What is the Optum healthy groceries card?

Optum describes Healthy Benefits+ as “the Optum Financial supplemental benefit program” and says it is built for health plans and their members. According to Optum, “Members can use funds for food, groceries, OTC items, utilities, transportation, fitness, and more,” all on one card, in stores, online or for delivery. The connected website and app show eligible items and balances, validate purchases at checkout and help members find nearby participating retailers in Optum’s S3 merchant network.

In other words, Optum supplies the card, the app and the store network. Your health plan sets:

Which benefits load on the card (OTC items, food, utilities and so on)
How much money you get and how often it reloads
Who qualifies for each benefit
Whether unused money rolls over

Optum and the UnitedHealthcare UCard

UnitedHealthcare’s UCard for Medicare Advantage and Dual Special Needs Plan members is an Optum card. UnitedHealthcare says the program is “managed by Optum Financial, Inc.” and the card is “Issued by Optum Bank, Inc., Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard.” Members can shop at more than 70,000 participating stores nationwide and check balances in the UCard Hub on the member site or in the UnitedHealthcare app.

On UnitedHealthcare’s D-SNP pages, food and utility credits are “only available to chronically ill enrollees with a qualifying condition, such as diabetes,” who also meet the plan’s criteria for high risk of hospitalization and intensive care coordination. UnitedHealthcare adds: “For 2027, verification of a qualifying chronic condition and more complex health needs will be required.” Read more in our guides to the UnitedHealthcare healthy food card, UnitedHealthcare OTC benefits for 2027 and the UnitedHealthcare OTC card balance.

Can I apply for an Optum groceries card?

Not directly. The Healthy Benefits+ member site says you “may only be eligible to participate in certain benefit programs as determined by your health plan or Optum Financial,” and tells cardholders to visit “the website on the back of your payment card” to create or log in to an account. We found no official Optum page offering a groceries card to the public.

To get grocery money on a card like this:

Check your current plan. Your Medicare Advantage plan’s Summary of Benefits or Evidence of Coverage lists any food or “healthy groceries” benefit and its rules.
Compare 2027 plans. Use Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and look for food or SSBCI benefits in each plan’s 2027 Summary of Benefits.
Confirm eligibility. Food benefits in Medicare Advantage are usually Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill, so you typically need a qualifying chronic condition and must meet the plan’s other criteria.
Enroll during a valid period, such as Open Enrollment from October 15 to December 7, 2026, for coverage starting January 1, 2027.

If your employer offers a healthy food program through Optum, your HR or benefits team can tell you whether you’re eligible and how much it pays. Details depend on the employer.

How to check your Optum card balance

Go to the website printed on the back of your card, or the Healthy Benefits+ member site, and sign in.
UnitedHealthcare UCard members can use the UCard Hub on the member site or the UnitedHealthcare app.
Call the phone number on the back of your card.

Watch for “free grocery card” ads

Ads that promise a free Medicare grocery card for everyone are misleading. Food benefits come only from certain private plans and usually only for members who qualify. Never give your Medicare number to someone who calls you uninvited. If you’re not sure about an offer, call your plan using the number on your member ID card. Our Medicare flex card guide explains common red flags, and the Medicare grocery benefit guide covers who qualifies.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Optum Healthy Groceries Card?

It’s a benefit card program run by Optum Financial for health plans and employers. The plan or employer decides how much grocery money you get and who qualifies.

Is the UnitedHealthcare UCard an Optum card?

Yes. UnitedHealthcare says the UCard program is managed by Optum Financial and the card is issued by Optum Bank.

Can anyone get an Optum food card?

No. You get one through a health plan or employer that offers the benefit, and for Medicare Advantage food benefits you usually need a qualifying chronic condition.

Where can I use an Optum groceries card?

At participating retailers in Optum’s network. UnitedHealthcare says UCard members can shop at more than 70,000 participating stores. Use your card’s app or website to find stores near you.

What can I buy with it?

Only the items your plan approves for each benefit. The card’s app and website show eligible items, and the card checks purchases at checkout.

This article is general information. Medicare365 is not affiliated with or endorsed by Optum, UnitedHealthcare or any U.S. government agency. Benefits vary by plan and county; check your plan’s Evidence of Coverage.

Sources

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