As the mercury rises in Central Oregon, some Oregon Health Plan members have been given air conditioners, air filters, portable power supplies and mini refrigerators for storing medication under an expansion of medical benefits offered under the federal Medicaid insurance plan.

Health plan members in Jefferson, Crook and Deschutes counties and parts of Klamath County received 17 devices, said Kristen Lambert, an Oregon Health Authority communications officer.

Statewide, the state delivered 939 devices, with air conditioners making up 44% of the devices delivered to patients from March 1 to May 31, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

The agency was unable to say how many air conditioners were delivered to Oregon Health Plan members in Central Oregon. The program is funded in part by Oregon’s federally funded expansion of Medicaid, which now includes health-related social needs to help maintain health and well-being, according to a health authority statement.

Oregon is the first state to launch climate-related benefits tied to Medicaid coverage, according to the health authority.

Among the first patients to receive these devices are people who are engaged with the Oregon child welfare system, homeless people or those at risk of being homeless, dual-eligible patients on Medicare and Medicaid, and adults and youth recently released from mental health institutions, or from incarceration.

“Our climate is changing, and the way we deliver health care has to change with it,” said Dave Baden, Oregon Health Authority deputy director, in a prepared statement.

To apply for a climate device, which includes heaters, contact a coordinated care organization that administers the Oregon Health Plan, such as PacificSource in Central Oregon. PacificSource can be reached at 800-431-4135.