SALEM, Ore. – Three months after Oregon launched the nation’s first climate-related benefits tied to Medicaid coverage, nearly 1,000 eligible Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members have received vital devices to help keep them healthy.
These devices include air conditioners, heaters, air filters, mini refrigeration units for storing medications, and portable power supplies to operate medical equipment (i.e., ventilators during power outages). Air conditioners made up 44% of the 939 devices distributed from March 1 to May 31.
OHA and partners are working to distribute climate devices to eligible OHP members ahead of heat waves and wildfires this summer. Oregon recorded its hottest years in state history during the last five years, and climate models show the severity of heat waves are likely to increase.
The new climate-related benefits are part of Oregon’s federally funded expansion of OHP coverage, which includes health-related social needs (HRSN) services that help maintain health and well-being but are not traditionally thought of as medical services.
The state is first extending eligibility for climate devices to people who are experiencing life transitions. This includes people who are: currently or previously involved in the Oregon child welfare system; homeless or at risk of becoming homeless; transitioning to dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid; adults and youth recently discharged from Institutions for Mental Disease (IMDs) or released within the last year from incarceration. To be eligible, members cannot live in a group setting or shelter and need access to consistent and safe power to use these devices. Climate resources must also be part of a member’s health need or treatment.
“Our climate is changing and the way we deliver health care has to change with it,” said Dave Baden, deputy director of OHA. “People with lower incomes and chronic conditions are among those most likely to experience heat exhaustion, heat stroke or complications of other health conditions related to extreme climate events. Access to these services will reduce health disparities and offer life-saving resources to people in Oregon.”
OHP members interested in receiving climate devices should contact their coordinated care organization (CCO) to learn more. OHP Open Card members can call 1-888-834-4304 or email [email protected]. If an OHP member is not sure which plan or CCO they are in, they can call the OHA Client Services Unit at 1-800-273-0557.
OHP members who don’t qualify for HRSN climate devices can still contact their CCO to see if climate supports are available through “flexible services” (also called health related services). OHP Open Card members who don’t qualify for HRSN climate devices can still contact 1-888-834-4304 or their county to learn about local programs providing climate supports this summer. For non-OHP members in Oregon, some cities and counties have similar programs with limited supply of devices.
HRSN services are part of Oregon’s 2022 – 2027 1115 Medicaid waiver, which helps provide more federal funding and expanded coverage to OHP members. Medicaid waivers give states the flexibility to test new ways to deliver and pay for Medicaid benefits, with approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). Oregon’s 1115 waiver includes several first-in-the-nation benefits tied to Medicaid coverage.
To learn more about OHA’s new climate-related resources, visit the web site.
*Data included is taken from three sources:
- CCO “Exhibit L” Quarterly Report for January – March 31, 2024;
- Open Card contractor settlement reports for March, April and May 2024; and
- A supplemental survey of CCOs to report climate devices delivered to CCO members in April and May 2024.
All data is preliminary and may be subject to change, so should be interpreted with caution.
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