Oregon Decides Medicaid Can Help With Rent, Food
by Lynne Terry, Oregon Capital Chronicle
September 29, 2022
Under a new agreement, the federal government will give Oregon $1.1 billion to guarantee continued free health care coverage to tens of thousands of young children in households with low incomes and offer wider coverage to low-income young adults, especially those with special needs.
The agreement, announced Wednesday in a conference call with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, also includes expanding Medicaid coverage to include housing and food support.
The social services help means Medicaid in Oregon will pay recipients for rent, utilities and other housing needs for up to six months; provide help with housing applications, moving and eviction prevention and assign a case manager to coordinate services. The Oregon Health Plan, the state’s version of Medicaid, will also provide cooking and nutrition classes, food boxes, medically-appropriate prepared meals and help getting federal food benefits.
In addition, Medicaid in Oregon will pay for air conditioners prior to a heat wave, air filters when wildfire smoke clogs the air and generators during extreme cold events. Medicaid providers in Oregon have already done this, but the agreement means coverage will be expanded, officials said.
Both Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Brown called the agreement groundbreaking.