Wildfire Response and Recovery: The Importance of Coordinated Care and Social Support

Abstract

Summary A decade ago, the Oregon legislature created coordinated care organizations (CCOs) through a Medicaid 1115 Demonstration waiver as a way of integrating physical, behavioral, and oral health in a single funding stream. The intent of the legislation was to facilitate the development of regional organizations that would coordinate comprehensive care for their Medicaid populations. AllCare Health, through AllCare CCO, serves approximately 61,000 members in the Southern Oregon region by partnering with providers and community organizations and stakeholders. As a participant in this community network beginning in the mid-1990s, prior to CCO legislation — and having developed the infrastructure to support community development and the trust to reinforce relationship management — AllCare Health was able to help facilitate the local response to the destructive wildfires affecting Southern Oregon in the fall of 2020. Using geographic information systems technology, AllCare Health identified members at risk in the fire zones and coordinated evacuation, health care services, and social needs in the immediate crisis. AllCare Health’s experience with integrating social determinants of health (SDOH) and preexisting relationships developed over many years allowed the organization to be a catalyst in the community response to the wildfires, which, given the changing climate, have become more frequent. Further, the CCO model supports care delivery that recognizes SDOH and supports the Triple Aim of improved patient experience of care, improved health of populations, and reduced per capita cost of care.