The federal government will start PAYING people’s rent in two states starting this YEAR under the new Medicaid program – which will treat homelessness as a health care problem

States will soon begin paying for their residents’ housing using federal health care funding, hoping it will help curb America’s homelessness epidemic, which has reached a record high.

The Biden administration has allowed several states to implement a new Medicaid waiver program that would allow states to cover housing costs, while advocates want to classify homelessness as a health care problem.

Medicaid is the U.S. government program that provides health insurance to adults and children with limited income and resources.

According to the latest data as of October 2023, approximately 80.3 million Americans were enrolled in the program.

The rental assistance will come in several forms, including a one-time payment to help someone pay a housing deposit or cover rent and utilities for up to six months.

The first two states to roll out the program, Arizona and Oregon, will target specific subpopulations of Medicaid beneficiaries who qualify under each state’s specific guidelines – including people who are currently homeless or at risk of losing their housing and people with mental illness.

The waiver was approved as the U.S. homelessness crisis reaches record levels and rents skyrocket, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans living on the streets.

Supporters of the change argue that homelessness is a public health problem, straining the health care system and costing millions of dollars a year. That’s why states should be able to use federal funding to help people provide stable housing.

The policy change is being implemented through a program that allows states to experiment with new ways to use Medicaid money.

Prior to the change, Congress’ restrictions only allowed the funding to be used for payments to nursing homes or medical facilities, but in recent years states have shifted to using Medicaid money for broader public health measures, including housing assistance.

Arizona and Oregon will test the initiative with a certain group of people on Medicaid in early October and November, respectively.

Arizona has 14,200 unhoused residents and Oregon has 20,100 unhoused residents.

Oregon, which has 1.5 million people on Medicaid, plans to use the funding to help beneficiaries at risk of homelessness in an effort to prevent homelessness.

Currently, approximately 125,000 Medicaid beneficiaries are eligible for the program. They could also include people suffering from a behavioral health crisis, people hospitalized with a long-term health condition, or pregnant women who need resources.

The assistance includes a one-time payment to help with a security deposit, or covers rent and utilities for up to six months.

The state plans to use $1 billion of its Medicaid budget to prevent homelessness through multiple measures and programs, including rental assistance.

Arizona, where 2.5 million people are enrolled in Medicaid, will target people with serious mental illness to subsidize rent. Because the country lacks a supply of affordable housing, it will use Medicaid funding to pay for “improved shelters,” which consist of group housing.

Others eligible include those at risk of homelessness or currently experiencing homelessness and those on an approved community housing waiting list.

Arizona is allocating $550 million for the program.

The state was allowed to cover housing for people for up to six months. Those who are eligible for housing benefit will receive a voucher for renting a home. If someone has no income, the voucher covers 100 percent of the rent.

If they do have income, the voucher covers 70 percent and the resident is responsible for 30 percent of the rent.

New York, California, Hawaii and Washington have all signed up for the program as well.

California and New York have the two largest homeless populations in the country.

The number of homeless Americans has increased since 2017 and reached a record high in 2023 – and rents have reached their most unaffordable levels ever.

According to a report According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 653,100 people were without permanent housing in 2023, up from 582,400 people in 2022 – an increase of 12 percent.

The report blames ever-increasing rents and a worsening housing affordability crisis, with a shortage of affordable housing.

Dan Tsai, the deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, told The new Medicaid waiver program was based on both common sense and evidence-based research.

He said: ‘We think it’s incredibly exciting. This is a strong, clear position, and we have been working in this administration for about a year to define and create the role of Medicaid in housing and nutrition.”

Before the change, Congress’ restrictions only allowed Medicaid funding to be used for payments to nursing homes or medical facilities.

However, research has shown that adults experiencing homelessness visit hospitals and emergency rooms at three times the rate of the general population, and providing people with housing can save on those health care costs.

This isn’t the first time a state has allocated money to help house people in the name of health care.

In 2022, New York City invested $14 million in the Housing for Health program that helps homeless patients find affordable housing, “recognizing that the chronic health conditions of unhoused individuals cannot be treated without stable housing.”

Announcing the initiative, Mayor Eric Adams said, “It is time to look at the full picture of New Yorkers’ health challenges and address these challenges holistically.

“It’s not enough to care for unhoused New Yorkers in the emergency room and then discharge them when they don’t have a home to recover and heal.

“We know that housing is fundamental to health, and this program brings us one step closer to achieving a healthier, more equitable and more prosperous New York City.”