Safeway grocery stores in Baltimore and across the nation are unable to process a popular Medicare Advantage payment card, leaving vulnerable populations looking for other options to buy healthy foods and over-the-counter medications, WYPR has learned.

Albertsons, the parent company of Safeway, says it will not be able to process UnitedHealthCare Ucards until Feb. 1.

The Ucards are part of the Medicare Advantage package offered by UnitedHealthCare and allow people to buy medication, food and pay for home utilities.

“Due to a technical issue, some UnitedHealthcare UCards are temporarily unavailable for use at Safeway store,” said Dana Ward, the director of communications for Albertson’s Mid-Atlantic division. “This temporary outage only impacts supplemental benefit purchases such as healthy foods and over-the-counter items. UCards can still be used at Safeway pharmacies during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.”

The cards can still be used for prescription drugs.

According to UnitedHealth Care more than six million people are using UCards for their Medicare needs.

There are 60 Safeway locations in Maryland. The store on Charles and 25th Street in Baltimore has handwritten signs at its registers reminding people that the cards are not working.

The companies are urging customers to contact them to find alternative measures.