(Press-News.org) Despite a heavy infusion of public and private support during the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries in Oregon reported that housing and food insecurity shot up during the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020 — and their basic needs remained in doubt through at least the end of the following year.
The survey data were reported in a study led by Oregon Health & Science University and published today in the Annals of Family Medicine.
The Oregon study provides a state-specific dimension to a nationwide survey commissioned by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS.
Earlier this month, CMS released a report involving surveys of 1.1 million beneficiaries nationwide. The nationwide survey data found that beneficiaries whose basic needs — housing, food, transportation, utilities, interpersonal safety — were addressed in a health care visit were on average healthier and spent less on health care compared with those who did not receive assistance.
CMS promotes the use of screening, referral and navigators to connect beneficiaries directly with social service agencies.
“Together, these findings drive home the point that health care organizations need to think about the social care of their patients,” said senior author Anne King, M.B.A., an OHSU adjunct faculty member who serves as Oregon state director of Comagine Health, a nonprofit health care quality improvement firm. “It actually improves their health and it reduces costs for taxpayers.”
Survey gauges health-related social needs
Beginning in 2019, researchers in OHSU’s Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network engaged with a consortium of 50 clinical sites around the state providing health care to people insured by Medicare and Medicaid. As part of a CMS-sponsored initiative to better understand the health-related social needs of beneficiaries, researchers began regularly surveying them. Some 21,000 beneficiaries were surveyed in Oregon over three years.
The timespan just happened to coincide with the biggest health calamity in a century.
For all the death, despair and economic disruption wrought by COVID-19, the pandemic also afforded a natural experiment. In Oregon, researchers recorded an abrupt 17.7-percentage-point increase overall in health-related social needs in March of 2020 — just as the pandemic shuttered everything from NBA basketball games to restaurants to schools.
Beneficiaries received a big infusion of support in the form of eviction moratoriums, extension of unemployment benefits and direct government cash payments.
Despite the help, Oregon beneficiaries surveyed in the study reported that food, housing and interpersonal safety needs increased by 16.5%, 15.9% and 4.4%, respectively, starting in May 2020 and continuing through the end of 2021. Needs related to transportation and utilities also shot up initially but settled back over time.
“What if we hadn’t done anything?” said lead author Jean Hiebert Larson, M.S., an OHSU finance analyst. “Would this have been much worse?”
Taking action
In addition to highlighting the effectiveness of addressing basic needs in health care visits, the findings suggest the need for more research to better understand which specific interventions, investments and policies may be most useful in addressing health-related social needs.
One Oregon program is moving forward now.
Oregon Health Authority, coordinated care organizations and community organizations have just launched a program that involves CMS subsidizing short-term rent assistance and other eviction-prevention services for beneficiaries in need. King describes it as a benefit akin to paying for a pair of eyeglasses.
“Oregon is ahead of the nation,” King said. “We’re at the forefront of the nation in understanding the relationship between stable housing and effective delivery of health care.”
In addition to King and Hiebert Larson, co-authors include Zoe Major-McDowall and Bruce Goldberg, M.D., all of OHSU’s Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network; and Anna L. Steeves-Reece, Ph.D., M.P.H., of OCHIN, a nonprofit organization previously known as Oregon Community Health Information Network.
The project described was supported by Funding Opportunity Number CMS-1P1-17-001 from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS or any of its agencies.
END
Pandemic raised food, housing insecurity in Oregon despite surge in spending
Survey of Medicare, Medicaid beneficiaries suggests importance of addressing social needs during health care visits to improve health, lower costs
2024-11-26
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
OU College of Medicine professor earns prestigious pancreatology award
2024-11-26
Min Li, Ph.D., a George Lynn Cross Professor of Medicine, Surgery and Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and Associate Director for Global Oncology at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, will receive the 2024 Palade Prize from the International Association of Pancreatology.
The Palade Prize, the IAP’s most distinguished award for research excellence, recognizes Li’s contributions to the field of pancreatology, which is dedicated to discovering new methods of identifying, diagnosing and treating diseases of the pancreas such as pancreatic ...
Sub-Saharan Africa leads global HIV decline: Progress made but UNAIDS 2030 goals hang in balance, new IHME study finds
2024-11-26
**Embargo: 23.30 [UK time], 6:30 p.m. [ET], 3:30 p.m. [PT], Monday, November 25 2024**
In contrast, the percentage of the population without a suppressed level of HIV (PUV) increased by 116.1% in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia from 2003 to 2021.
The study authors are issuing recommendations to invigorate the global HIV response across global public health programs dedicated to HIV control and expansion of prevention services.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) has published a new study in The Lancet HIV journal that revealed significant progress in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, alongside ...
Popular diabetes and obesity drugs also protect kidneys, study shows
2024-11-26
The biggest and most comprehensive analysis of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists on kidney and cardiovascular outcomes shows they have significant benefits in people with and without diabetes.1 Findings were published today in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Originally developed to treat diabetes, GLP-1 receptor agonists mimic the action of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1, which stimulates insulin production and lowers blood sugar levels. More recently, they have emerged as effective treatments for obesity - slowing digestion, ...
Stevens INI receives funding to expand research on the neural underpinnings of bipolar disorder
2024-11-25
Leila Nabulsi, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in computational neuroscience at the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) has received funding to expand research on the neurocircuitry that underlies bipolar disorder. Nabulsi was awarded the prestigious 2025 NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, a highly competitive grant that provides early-career researchers with crucial pilot funding to pursue new avenues in ...
Protecting nature can safeguard cities from floods
2024-11-25
A new UBC-led study shows that safeguarding key natural ecosystems across Canada can help reduce flood risks for more than half of the country’s urban areas at high risk for flooding.
The research reveals that preserving the most important five per cent of watersheds—about 201,000 square kilometres or two per cent of Canada’s land—can significantly reduce rainwater runoff, protect homes and livelihoods, and safeguard croplands.
“This is the first national study to assess the role of Canadian ecosystems in flood prevention and to identify where conservation could have the greatest impact,” said Dr. Matthew ...
NCSA receives honors in 2024 HPCwire Readers’ and Editors’ Choice Awards
2024-11-25
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications was recognized by the HPCwire Readers’ and Editors’ Choice Awards for its outstanding achievements in artificial intelligence and the use of high-performance computing in the physical sciences.
Announced at Supercomputing Conference 2024 (SC24) in Atlanta on November 18, NCSA was awarded the Readers’ Choice Award: Best HPC Collaboration and Editors’ Choice: Best Use of HPC in Physical Sciences. It’s the 14th consecutive ...
Warning: Don’t miss Thanksgiving dinner, it’s more meaningful than you think
2024-11-25
Book the flight home for Thanksgiving, go to that party even though you’re tired, and write that thank you note. You may feel these experiences are not that significant in your busy life today, but according to Erin Westgate, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida, you are likely wrong.
Westgate and her team of researchers at the Florida Social Cognition and Emotion Lab recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the factors that lead people ...
Expanding HPV vaccination to all adults aged 27-45 years unlikely to be cost-effective or efficient for HPV-related cancer prevention
2024-11-25
Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 25 November 2024
@Annalsofim
Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf ...
Trauma care and mental health interventions training help family physicians prepare for times of war
2024-11-25
Special Report
Background and Goal: In wars and conflict, family physicians are frequently called on to serve in expanded roles and are witnesses to the enormous mental and physical suffering of individuals, families, communities, and populations. This special report examines the role of family physicians in the Israel–Hamas conflict and other current wars to inform future practices in family medicine.
Key Insights: Family physicians must share timely, accurate information with colleagues on all sides of the conflict while acknowledging the narratives ...
Adapted nominal group technique effectively builds consensus on health care priorities for older adults
2024-11-25
Background and Goal: The participatory research approach is an important tool of family medicine and primary health care research. However, standard consensus methods like the Delphi and nominal group techniques can be time consuming and may not represent a broad range of opinions. To address these issues, researchers developed an adapted nominal group technique (aNGT) to efficiently build consensus among stakeholders with diverse perspectives.
Approach: This study focused on shaping care trajectories for adults aged 65 and older, aiming to prioritize key domains and identify new care indicators. Researchers used ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Brain’s immune cells key to wiring the adolescent brain
KAIST develops AI that automatically detects defects in smart factory manufacturing processes even when conditions change
Research alert: Alcohol opens the floodgates for bad bacteria
American Gastroenterological Association, Latica partner to assess living guidelines using real-world evidence
University of Tennessee collaborates on NSF grants to improve outcomes through AI
New technique at HonorHealth Research Institute uses ultrasound to activate drugs targeting pancreatic cancer
Companies 'dumbed down' cryptocurrency disclosures in good markets prior to reporting standardization, Rotman research finds
MSU study: What defines a life well-lived? Obituaries may have the answers.
Wind isn’t the only threat: USF-led scientists urge shift to more informed hurricane scale
Study: Fossils reveal reliable record of marine ecosystem functioning
New Simon Fraser University–University of Exeter partnership fast-tracks path to become a lawyer
Busy bees can build the right hive from tricky foundations
Deep sea worm fights ‘poison with poison’ to survive high arsenic and sulfide levels
New monthly pill shows potential as pre-exposure prophylaxis HIV drug candidate
Estalishing power through divine portrayal and depictions of violence
Planetary scientist decodes clues in Bennu’s surface composition to make sense of far-flung asteroids
For students with severe attention difficulties, changing school shifts is not the solution
Novel virtual care program enhances at-home support for people with heart failure
Giving mRNA vaccines a technological shot in the arm
Study IDs what can help collaborative groups actually accomplish their goals
Simpler models can outperform deep learning at climate prediction
Expert on catfishes publishes updated volume on catfish biology and evolution
Inaugural editorial: the Energy and Environment Nexus
As World Alzheimer’s Month approaches, supporting personhood for family members with dementia is key
Acosta to examine moisture-driven polar ice growth & its impact on global sea level
Mount Sinai scientists identify three potent human antibodies against mpox, paving the way for new protective therapies
Smarter robot planning for the real world
Optimization of biosafety laboratory management via an AI-driven intelligent system
Mouse neurons that identify friends in need and friends indeed
Why the foam on Belgian beers lasts so long
[Press-News.org] Pandemic raised food, housing insecurity in Oregon despite surge in spendingSurvey of Medicare, Medicaid beneficiaries suggests importance of addressing social needs during health care visits to improve health, lower costs