Oregon – Renowned for its progressive health policies, Oregon is home to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), whose recent study highlights the critical relationship among stable housing, food security, and general health outcomes. The study, conducted during the tumultuous times of the COVID-19 pandemic, shows that many Oregonians on Medicare and Medicaid still struggle with basic requirements even with eviction moratorium and more government aid.
Published in the Annals of Family Medicine, the study shows from March 2020 to the end of 2021, food and housing insecurity among Oregon’s most disadvantaged groups have sharply increased. Beginning with the start of the worldwide health crisis, the results demonstrate a notable 17.7% increase in financial and food aid issues despite federal and state attempts to shore up these resources during the pandemic.
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The poll included nearly 21,000 people getting Medicare or Medicaid health care coverage. Enrolled in the study between 2019 and 2021, these individuals reflected a wide spectrum of Oregon’s population, including people from isolated rural regions as well as heavily populated metropolitan places like Portland.
Under the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon has around 1.4 million Medicaid enrollees as well as more than 930,000 Medicare beneficiaries. This sizable population emphasizes the vital necessity of supportive services going beyond conventional medical treatment.
The timing of the study coincided the early days of the pandemic, which unintentionally gave the researchers front-row access to the growing crises of food insecurity and housing shortage among public health lockdowns and financial crisis. The study was part of a bigger national initiative involving 1.1 million Americans with an intent to evaluate the wider influence of directly addressing social determinants of health via health care contacts.
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Those whose basic needs were satisfied during health care visits reported better health outcomes and reduced total health care expenses, according to the results of the national survey. These results support integrated health and social care systems, which not only enhance patient health but also have financial advantages by lightening the load on public coffers.
Senior author of the study and OHSU adjunct faculty member Dr. Anne King underlined the significance of these discoveries.
“Together, these findings drive home the point that health care organizations need to think about the social care of their patients,” said King. “It actually improves their health and it reduces costs for taxpayers.”
Approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Oregon Health Authority has started a new program in response to these urgent requirements under part of their Medicaid waiver. This creative initiative is meant to provide Medicaid holders who have financial problems because of medical conditions rental help.
For this and other new projects aiming at improving living conditions for individuals with low incomes, the state has set up around $1 billion. Among these projects are clauses for improved food benefits, air filters, and air conditioning systems.
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Valid from October 2022 to September 2027, the Medicaid waiver is a calculated attempt to test new methods to better use Medicaid money. Reflecting a rising awareness of the interaction between social conditions and health care efficacy, this strategy is expected to open the path for like reforms in other states.
Lead author Jean Hiebert Larson, an OHSU finance analyst, noted the significance of their results and asked, “What if we hadn’t done anything? Would this have been much worse?” Larson’s analysis emphasizes the continuous requirement of focused research and policy-making to further address these difficult problems even while it draws attention to the potential disaster averted by proactive measures.
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Oregon presents a model for the country in combining social services with health care delivery as it advances these projects, thus demonstrating that responding to basic human needs is not only an issue of health but of fundamental human rights.
