Ochsner Health Introduces a New Option to Louisiana’s Medicare Advantage Market
// By Jim Pittman //
The new Ochsner Health Plan will play an important role in helping improve the health of the Bayou State’s over-65 population.
In October 2021, Ochsner Health, the largest health system in Louisiana, officially launched the new Ochsner Health Plan (OHP) with Medicare Advantage (MA) just in time for Medicare’s 2022 Annual Enrollment Period. The only provider-sponsored MA plan in the market, OHP provides a full complement of competitively priced benefits — all backed by the value-based care, quality, and innovation that patients expect from Louisiana’s leading health care provider.
Warner Thomas, president and CEO, Ochsner Health
“As the U.S. Medicare population continues to grow by 11,000 people every day, more seniors across Louisiana are seeking the best medical options available to them,” said Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Ochsner Health in an October 2021 press release. “Ochsner wanted to create an innovative plan that takes full advantage of Ochsner Health’s fully integrated health system.”
OHP’s provider-sponsored model is like that offered by other successful, fully integrated health care systems around the country, focusing on innovation and value-based health care to improve patient outcomes.
In partnership with OHP, Ochsner Health will provide preventive care resources and health management services for members that are fully integrated with virtual and in-person programs for treating chronic and complex conditions that remain highly prevalent in Louisiana — like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, obesity, and nicotine addiction.
Read on to learn about Ochsner Health’s start-up of a Medicare Advantage plan — a business opportunity focused on population health.