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Oregon Health Authority

Oregon Health Plan (OHP) Climate Supports

Keeping Members Safe During Climate Events

Starting March 1, 2024, OHP members may qualify for climate supports. Climate support is a health-related social needs (HRSN) service. Oregon’s 1115 Medicaid waiver allows OHP to cover HRSN services. HRSN services are for OHP members facing certain life transitions.

What Are HRSN Climate Supports?

They are devices to help keep people safe during climate events. These include:

  • Air conditioners, heaters, and air filters to provide clean air and healthy temperatures
  • Mini fridges to keep medication cold during a power outage
  • Portable power supplies to operate medical devices like ventilators during a power outage

Read the climate support benefit overview:

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Who Qualifies for HRSN Climate Supports?

OHP covers devices for members who:

  • Have a living situation that qualifies them for HRSN services,
  • Have a health condition that makes climate events challenging or dangerous, 
  • Live in a place with electricity, and 
  • Can use the device safely.

Covered devices are only for use in the member's home or primary residence.

  • Release from incarceration in the past 12 months
  • Discharge from Institutions for Mental Disease (IMDs) in the past 12 months. IMDs are residential mental health or substance use disorder facilities with more than 16 beds.
  • Current or past involvement in the Oregon child welfare system
  • Changing from Medicaid-only to dual (Medicaid and Medicare) coverage. This change can be within the next three months or past nine months
  • Being homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless

Examples include:

  • For air conditioners, a health condition that gets worse during hot weather
  • For heaters, a health condition that gets worse when the member gets very cold
  • For air filtration devices, a health condition that gets worse when air quality is poor
  • For mini fridges, a health condition that requires temperature-controlled medication
  • For portable power supply, a health condition that requires a powered medical device

How to Ask for HRSN Climate Supports

Coordinated care organization (CCO) members: Ask your CCO. Your CCO:

  • Will approve or deny services within two weeks.
  • May need to call you for more information.

To ask, use your CCO's HRSN request form. You can also call your CCO.

Advanced Health   AllCare CCO   Cascade Health Alliance   Columbia Pacific CCO   Eastern Oregon CCO   Health Share of Oregon   InterCommunity Health Network   Jackson Care Connect   PacificSource   Trillium Community Health Plan   Umpqua Health Alliance   Yamhill Coordinated Care

Open card members: Call 1-888-834-4304 or email ORHRSN@acentra.com.

Or, send a completed HRSN Request Form. Completing this form does not guarantee eligibility for or delivery of the device. Download the form in your language:

English   Español / Spanish   Русский / Russian   Tiếng Việt / Vietnamese   اللغة العربية / Arabic   简体中文 / Simplified Chinese   繁體中文 / Traditional Chinese   한국어 / Korean   Af Soomaali / Somali   Lus Hmoob / Hmong   Português / Portuguese

Other Ways to Get Climate Supports

If you do not qualify for a climate device through OHP:

  • CCO members can ask their CCO about flexible services (also called health related services). These are services that OHP does not cover. But CCOs may choose to cover them if they will improve the member's health. Your provider usually needs to ask the CCO for approval.
  • Some cities and counties have programs with limited supply. Ask your city or county if they have such a program.
  • OHP and Medicare members may qualify for an air cooling or air filter device through the Air Conditioner and Air Filter Deployment Program. Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Human Services and local community-based organizations refer members for this program.

OHP.Oregon.gov

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Member Resources

Member journey: HRSN services

Preparing for extreme weather events

Resources at 211Info.org 

Partner Resources

Frequently asked questions:

Provider journey: HRSN services

Questions?

We want to make sure you have the information you need. 

Talk to your CCO

 Not in a CCO? Call 1-800-273-0557 or

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