- Recognizing the links between housing and health, Oregon and other states are testing new housing benefit programs for Medicaid members.
- Research from Providence CORE and Health Share of Oregon offers new data on member needs and the costs related to these efforts.
- Their findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Housing and health are closely connected. People need safe and stable housing to get healthy and stay healthy. Despite this link, health insurers and other payers like Medicaid haven’t historically covered housing-related expenses. Today, that’s starting to change.
Medicaid programs such as the Oregon Health Plan are testing new initiatives to support member health through housing benefits. However, most healthcare organizations are new to the housing space. And more data is needed on costs, member needs, and other aspects of these emerging programs.
New research from the Providence Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CORE) and Health Share of Oregon (HSO) is helping fill these gaps.
CORE’s evaluation of a Health Share of Oregon housing benefit pilot offers some of the first peer-reviewed data on member housing needs and related costs. Findings from the evaluation were published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
“The initial findings from our evaluation of Health Share’s housing benefit pilot offer valuable lessons for the design and implementation of housing support programs under Medicaid,” explains Monique Gill, research scientist at CORE. “These insights are crucial as Oregon and other states develop similar initiatives to address housing as a health-related social need.”
Related News & Resources
- CORE Blog post: Housing for Health Program Delivers Promising Results
- News story in The Oregonian: Study Finds Lower Medicaid Costs for people who moved into Bud Clark Commons
