Through Oregon’s 1115 Medicaid waiver, the state will be able to cover new services for Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members called health-related social needs (HRSNs). HRSNs are social and economic needs that impact an individual’s ability to maintain health and well-being. HRSN services under Oregon’s Medicaid waiver will include climate-related resources (anticipated March 2024), housing supports (November 2024) and nutritional services (January 2025).

Community-based organizations (CBOs) and partners will be integral to this work and may be able to receive funding to help with these efforts. Oregon has been approved to spend up to $119 million in community capacity building funds (CCBF), specifically to support investments to enable partners to provide HRSN services.

Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) will administer a majority of CCBF, except for those funds reserved for Tribal Governments. CCOs will be responsible for activities including conducting outreach regarding funding opportunities, receiving and reviewing applications, and awarding funding to eligible entities. Outreach about this opportunity is projected to take place January – February 2024 and applications are expected to be available in March.

How to find out more:

• OHA hosted a webinar on CCBFs in November. Presentation slides are available in English and Spanish on the 1115 waiver web site.
• Additional information will be included in future newsletters.

As part of Oregon’s 1115 Medicaid waiver, the state is required to secure an independent evaluation partner to measure the outcomes of waiver benefits. It was announced last week that Portland, Oregon-based Center for Outcomes Research & Education (CORE) was selected through a competitive process to develop the waiver evaluation design.

CORE is an independently funded team of scientists, researchers, and data experts. Their team will work with OHA to seek input and feedback from a variety of Oregon partners and focus on three major components:

• Develop a robust evaluation design, leveraging input from interested parties
• Formulate a plan to gain input and insight from a diverse range of groups and individuals
• Gather input and ongoing recommendations of governance processes for evaluation implementation.

CORE’s stated goal is to produce an evaluation design informed by the experiences of OHP beneficiaries, community-based organizations, CCOs and other interested parties. For questions or comments, contact: OR1115WaiverEval@providence.org.

In 2023, the OHA community engagement team has hosted 17 “all come” webinars on the waiver with topical overviews and upcoming milestones. These meetings have provided space for attendees to learn more and ask questions about the waiver. Webinar presentation videos and slides can be found on the waiver website under the headline, “Learn More.”

A new series of webinars will return in February 2024.