As Philadelphia reached 96 degrees last month, Penn experts found that the cost of staying cool during extreme heat can create financial and health challenges for vulnerable communities.
Despite known health risks associated with excessive heat, Penn researchers told The Daily Pennsylvanian that Pennsylvania lacks adequate support for residents experiencing energy insecurity. They found that expanding cooling assistance is a viable solution to alleviate financial burden and improve health outcomes.
Cardiology professor and Leonard Davis Institute fellow Sameed Khatana explained the dangers high temperatures can bring. Heat stroke — which can lead to seizure and coma — is a major risk, but it is not the only one, Khatana said in an interview with the DP.
“What we find is that the majority of heat-associated deaths are actually not quite so stark,” Khatana told the DP. “What happens is that it’s an exacerbation of people’s underlying health conditions.”
For example, someone who has experienced a heart attack may face a reduced ability to “cope” with a heat-induced increase in heart rate. The excess cardiac strain can cause further damage and lead to heart failure, Khatana said.
His recent research estimates that as climate change leads to rising temperatures, the mean number of national cardiovascular deaths related to extreme heat per year could increase up to 233% for the period from 2036 to 2065, compared to the period from 2008 to 2019.
Other health conditions, such as diabetes, can also increase the risk of heat-related illness. In an interview with the DP, epidemiology professor and Leonard Davis Institute fellow Charles Leonard explained that heat can complicate blood sugar regulation. Hot conditions also make it more challenging for individuals to store medications such as insulin at “the appropriate temperature," he said.
School of Social Policy & Practice research assistant professor Chenyi Ma broke down the risks of “climate maladaptation.” His recent work has focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said provided a “unique opportunity” to study energy insecurity since “many people were confined or constrained” and “houses became increasingly dependent on their residential electricity.”
Ma found that 60% of households that received utility disconnection notices and did not get assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a federally-funded program, had to engage in “severe coping behaviors — such as enduring unsafe indoor temperatures and reducing spending on basic needs.” With LIHEAP, the number of similar households using those strategies dropped to 35%.
Still, the program is not a comprehensive solution, with assistance varying by state. Leonard explained that LIHEAP, which faced roll-out delays in 2025, does not always assist with cooling solutions.
“It has a requirement to cover heating assistance,” Leonard told the DP. “It does not have a requirement at the federal level to cover summertime cooling or air conditioning assistance.”
While Pennsylvania did provide air conditioners through LIHEAP in 2024, the program ended in 2025. Currently, an estimated 26% of Philadelphia households face a high energy burden.
“LIHEAP is seemingly always in this tenuous spot,” Leonard said. “It’s hard for states to see that fragility.”
He pointed to a federal proposal to cut the program, in addition to the stalling of one bill to implement minimum staffing numbers for LIHEAP and another increasing LIHEAP’s support for both heating and cooling.
Leonard added that simply providing air conditioning units without public funding support isn’t sufficient.
“Even if you get those units to people, if they can’t afford their utility bills, they’re probably not going to use them,” he said.
Additionally, LIHEAP currently faces underenrollment. Leonard explained that applying for assistance can be a complicated and “layered” process for residents, forcing them to be aware of “a smattering of programs.” These include LIHEAP, the city’s Utility Emergency Services Fund, private companies such as PECO, and programs like the Energy Coordinating Agency that can help “navigate” the process.
“It’d be nice if there was one unified platform where you went to enroll for all of these different programs and it was a single application — and if you’re qualified for the benefit, you should automatically get the benefit,” Leonard said. “There shouldn’t be additional steps that you have to go through to ensure that you get it.”
Ultimately, Leonard hopes that LIHEAP can move from a model of “crisis support” — as the program currently provides cash grants and crisis grants — to a “year-round affordability program” that can “get in front of a problem.”
“We need to provide cooling assistance to folks to prevent them from landing in the hospital rather than trying to solve the problem once folks are already on unstable ground,” he said.
