Keeping Members Healthy with Nutrition and Education
Nutrition benefits are a
health-related social needs (HRSN) service. HRSN nutrition benefits are for OHP members with certain life situations and health conditions.
What Are HRSN Nutrition Benefits?
The pantry stocking benefit provides qualifying OHP members with a portion of their recommended daily food for up to 6 months. Foods available may be fresh, frozen, dried, pureed, or canned. Some examples of allowable foods include:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Meat, poultry, fish, and other proteins
- Legumes
- Dairy products
- Breads and cereals
- Cooking oils, spices, and herbs
- Snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages
- Seeds and plants that produce food for the household
The fruit and vegetable benefit provides qualifying OHP members with fruit and vegetables for up to 6 months. Some examples of available foods include:
- Fresh fruit or vegetables
- Canned or packaged fruits such as applesauce
- Frozen or dried fruits without added sugars
- Fresh herbs
This benefit helps members learn how to make informed choices and improve health through nutrition. Members who qualify can ask their CCO or open card provider about the nutrition education options they offer.
Medically tailored meals (MTMs) are for people with health conditions that need nutrition support to improve outcomes.
OHP members must get a referral to a registered dietitian from their health care provider. The dietitian will make a nutrition care plan. If it shows that a member needs MTMs, their CCO or open card health care provider will connect them with an MTM provider. Meals will be customized for specific health conditions. Members will need to meet with the dietitian on a regular basis to make sure that the MTMs meet care plan goals.
Who Qualifies for HRSN Nutrition Benefits?
Each nutrition benefit has different requirements. But for all of them you must be an OHP member who:
- Is experiencing a certain life situation, and
- Has low or very low food security, and
- Has a qualifying health condition.
See each benefit section below for more details:
To qualify for the pantry stocking benefit, OHP members with low or very low food security must also be in at least one of these life situations:
- In the Oregon child welfare system (foster care) now or in the past
- Going from Medicaid-only benefits to qualifying for Medicaid plus Medicare
- Experiencing homelessness
- At risk of becoming homeless
- Be an OHP member with YSHCN benefits
- Left incarceration (jail, detention, etc.) in the past 12 months
- Left a mental health or substance use disorder treatment facility in the past 12 months
And they must also be at least one of the following:
- Pregnant
- An OHP member with YSHCN benefits
- A child 5 years old or younger
- A child or young adult aged 6-20 with one or more of the following health conditions:
- Complex physical health condition
- Complex behavioral health condition
- Developmental or intellectual disability
- Difficulty with self-care and daily activities
- Experience of abuse or neglect
- Use emergency room or crisis services often
Qualifying members will receive the benefit as a grocery box delivered to them or a pre-loaded card to use at certain grocery stores. Health plans may offer one or both options. Please check with your health plan on available benefit options.
To qualify for the fruit and vegetable benefit, OHP members with low or very low food security must also be in at least one of these life situations:
- In the Oregon child welfare system (foster care) now or in the past
- Going from Medicaid-only benefits to qualifying for Medicaid plus Medicare
- Experiencing homelessness
- At risk of becoming homeless
- Be an OHP member with Young Adult with Special Health Care Needs (YSHCN) benefits
- Left incarceration (such as jail or prison) in the past 12 months
- Left a mental health or substance use disorder treatment facility in the past 12 months
And they must also have at least one of the following health conditions:
- Complex physical health condition
- Complex behavioral health condition
- Developmental or intellectual disability
- Difficulty with self-care and daily activities
- Experience of abuse or neglect
- 65 or older
- Under age 6
- Pregnant or gave birth in the past 12 months
- Use emergency rooms or crisis services often
Qualifying members will receive the benefit as a grocery box delivered to them or a pre-loaded card to use at certain grocery stores. Health plans may offer one or both options. Please check with your health plan on available benefit options.
To qualify for nutrition education, OHP members with low or very low food security must also be in at least one of these life situations:
- In the Oregon child welfare system (foster care) now or in the past
- Going from Medicaid-only benefits to qualifying for Medicaid plus Medicare
- Experiencing homelessness
- At risk of becoming homeless
- Be an OHP member YSHCN benefits
- Left incarceration (jail, detention, etc.) in the past 12 months
- Left a mental health or substance use disorder treatment facility in the past 12 months
And they must also have at least one of the following health conditions:
- Complex physical health condition
- Complex behavioral health condition
- Developmental or intellectual disability
- Difficulty with self-care and daily activities
- Experience of abuse or neglect
- 65 or older
- Under age 6
- Pregnant or gave birth in the past 12 months
- Use emergency room or crisis services often
The OHP member must have a health condition for which medically tailored meals are appropriate. This is determined by the member's primary care physician or registered dietitian.
- If a registered dietitian determines that a member needs medically tailored meals, the member's CCO or open card provider will connect them with a provider.
- The meals will be customized for the member's specific health condition(s).
- Members will need to meet with the dietitian regularly to ensure the medically tailored meals meet care plan goals.
How to Ask for HRSN Nutrition Benefits
You will need
to ask your coordinated care organization (CCO). If you are not in a CCO, you will need to ask OHP Open Card. Your CCO or OHP Open Card will screen to see if you qualify.
CCO members:
Ask your CCO. You can
call your CCO or
use your CCO's request form. Make sure to submit the request to your CCO.
Advanced Health
AllCare CCO
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 Community Care
Open card (fee-for-service) members:
Fill out the HRSN Nutrition Request Form. Email the completed form to
ORHRSN@acentra.com. Completing this form does not guarantee eligibility for HRSN nutrition benefits. Download the form in your language:
English
Español / Spanish
Русский / Russian
Tiếng Việt / Vietnamese
اللغة العربية / Arabic
繁體中文 / Traditional Chinese
简体中文 / Simplified Chinese
Ukrainian
You can also call 1-888-834-4304 or email ORHRSN@acentra.com.
Unsure if you are a CCO member or Open Card member?
Please call OHP Client Services at 1-800-273-0557.