Indoor Air Quality Tools

Financing and Funding

A common barrier to meaningful and sustainable IAQ interventions is funding. Funding can come from a variety of sources, and often the most successful programs have diversified streams of support. This page contains resources to display examples of successful financing strategies in IAQ programs.

General Tools

Finding Funding to Fix Radon Problems NEW
This webinar from NCHH and the American Lung Association discusses federal funding opportunities that can help support efforts to improve indoor air quality, including radon testing and mitigation. The webinar also provides information about the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program as a mechanism to advance this kind of work and features examples from community representatives currently using CDBG funding to address radon. [mp4; ALA/NCHH, 2024]

Using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding to Improve Indoor Air Quality: A Technical Assistance Tool NEW
NCHH created this technical assistance brief to support local and state leaders (e.g., governments, agencies, programs, advocates, et cetera) in understanding how Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding can be used to accomplish housing repairs designed to create healthier, safer indoor environments. [pdf; NCHH, 2024]

Building Systems to Sustain Home-Based Asthma Services 
In collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NCHH developed this e-learning and technical assistance platform to support the launch and growth of large-scale, evidence-based, sustainable asthma home visiting programs. With guidance on topics such as Medicaid reimbursement opportunities and other financing options, developing a business case, scaling up, referrals and eligibility, staffing and training, supplies and services, community resources, and evaluation and reporting, each of the primary 10 e-learning modules offers a deeper look into some of the topics and strategies to consider while working to design and implement home-based asthma services. Numerous supplemental resources are linked throughout. [url; NCHH, 2022]

Unlocking the Power of Home-Based Asthma Services: Model Health Benefit Packages 
A collaboration between NCHH and Regional Asthma Management and Prevention, this tool equips managed care organizations (MCOs) or other healthcare payers with the information they need to improve asthma management among their enrollees by ensuring the provision of asthma home visiting services. It also addresses the key roles that other community, state, and federal stakeholders play in motivating and supporting healthcare payers in this effort. The tool describes the scope, staffing, and services associated with home-based asthma services that identify and address environmental asthma triggers in the home environment. The tool includes tiers of services (e.g., from a very basic set of services to more premium sets of services) to provide a range of options for payers at different levels of readiness to provide home-based asthma services and includes recommendations to support action from a range of critical stakeholders. [pdf; NCHH/RAMP, 2022]

Establishing and Running a Local Home Repair Program 
This technical assistance brief from NCHH provides an overview for local home repair programs of how these programs are typically funded and operated. Many of these programs cover IAQ-related home repairs. [pdf; NCHH, 2022]

Financing In-Home Asthma Care 
Asthma Community Network’s “Financing In-Home Asthma Care” microsite “focuses on delivering and paying for in-home asthma care to improve outcomes for children with out-of-control asthma.” This site explores new opportunities for financing evidence-based in-home asthma care created by healthcare policy changes and the work necessary to provide effective, sustainable home-based asthma care. [url; ACN]

Tribal Indoor Air Funding Directory 
The Tribal Indoor Air Funding Directory is an initiative of the Tribal Healthy Homes Network (THHN), an EPA-funded, tribally led network established in 2009. THHN works to reduce the health risks associated with indoor air hazards through education, outreach, training, and tribally led research with and for tribes across the country. Working with staff, interns, and partners, THHN developed the Funding Directory database to provide current, accessible, and centralized information on indoor air quality funding, a high-priority issue for tribes. [url; TIAFD]

Reimbursement Strategies for Healthy Homes Services Issue Brief: Considerations for State Medicaid Offices
This issue brief from the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative describes state Medicaid strategies for establishing funding pathways for healthy home services. It lays out best practices/models for a healthy homes program and includes a brief cost-benefit analysis of different programs, including lead, asthma, and fall hazards. The brief reviews how states can incorporate quality improvement provisions in their Managed Care contracts or develop waivers that promote healthy housing. [pdf; GHHI, 2022]

Case Studies

Strategies Toward Sustainability: More Financing Mechanisms for Healthy Homes Services
This report summarizes the findings from NCHH based on interviews with representatives from seven states (Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington) that used a variety of strategies to fund home-based interventions outside of the healthcare system. The interviews took place between 2016 and 2018, and they developed 12 case studies that can provide insight into states’ motivation to adopt the funding mechanism, the health and other outcomes that resulted, and the lessons states learned during implementation. [pdf, NCHH, 2019]

Sustainable Financing Mechanisms Case Studies: Montana’s Asthma Home Visiting Program 
This is a case study of the Montana Asthma Home Visiting Program (MAP), offered by the Montana Asthma Control Program (MACP). This program was designed to address basic asthma pathophysiology and asthma medications, and it has a significant home environmental focus to address asthma triggers. This resources contains information on financing mechanisms, program overview, program operations, outcomes, evaluations, and lessons learned. [pdf; NCHH, 2019]

Sustainable Financing Mechanisms Case Studies: Massachusetts’ Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund 
This case study describes the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund (PWTF) of Massachusetts healthcare reform legislation, which seeks to “reduce health care costs by preventing chronic conditions.” Designed to address four priority chronic conditions, this resource describes the pediatric asthma program and has information on financing mechanisms, program operations, outcomes and evaluations, and lessons learned. [pdf, NCHH, 2019]

Sustainable Financing Mechanisms Case Studies: New York’s Healthy Neighborhoods Program 
This case study provides an overview of New York’s Healthy Neighborhoods Program, including the basic structure for program operations, outcomes/evaluation, and the evolution of financing mechanisms since the program’s inception in 1985. [pdf, NCHH, 2019]

Sustainable Financing Mechanisms Case Studies: New Jersey’s ReHEET (Residential Health, Energy, and Environmental Transformation) 
This case study provides an overview of New Jersey’s ReHEET (Residential Health, Energy, and Environmental Transformation) program. This project is funded by the New Jersey Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC). ReHEET was created to pilot the joint provision of weatherization, structural repair, and healthy homes services in Trenton. This case study includes financing mechanisms, program operations, outcomes and evaluations, and lessons learned. [pdf, NCHH, 2019]

Sustainable Financing Mechanisms Case Studies: Washington’s Weatherization Plus Health (WxPlusHealth) 
This case study provides an overview of Washington’s pilot program, Basic Wx+H, which leverages state and local resources and support to expand measures and services available through the Low Income Weatherization program. This was made possible when the Washington (WA) Department of Commerce set aside $4.3 million to develop a Weatherization Plus Health Program (Wx+H). This case study includes financing mechanisms, program overview, program operations, outcomes and evaluations, and lessons learned. [pdf, NCHH, 2019]

 

Latest page update: October 3, 2024.