Medicaid provider might end its coverage for Ochsner network, affecting 70,000

One of Louisiana’s four Medicaid plans might no longer cover treatment at the state’s largest healthcare network, Ochsner Health System, after Dec. 1, potentially affecting 70,000 people. 

Louisiana Healthcare Connections, a private Medicaid plan the Centene Corp. manages, told Ochsner on June 1 it was considering ending coverage for its hospitals and clinics. The two companies have been in negotiations for a new contract since that time but haven’t reached an agreement yet, according to a letter sent from Ochsner to the Louisiana Department of Health last week. 

Louisiana Healthcare Connections was the largest of what were then six privately managed Medicaid plans at the end of 2025. It provided health insurance to 377,000 of the 1.4 million people in Louisiana on Medicaid plans last November, according to the state health department.  

Ochsner described itself as the largest healthcare provider for Medicaid recipients in the state of Louisiana in a letter from Mary Armstrong, the hospital system’s vice president of managed care, to state Medicaid director Seth Gold last week. Unlike any other medical system in Louisiana, Ochsner owns facilities in nearly every region of the state. 

Armstrong asked Gold for help in Ochsner’s negotiations with Louisiana Healthcare Connections, specifically requesting the Dec. 1 end date for the Louisiana Healthcare Connections plan be withdrawn.  

“This would give LHCC and Ochsner additional time to reach an agreement and preserve continuity of care for members,” Armstrong wrote. 

She also asked the health department to ensure Louisiana Healthcare Connections would fully pay Ochsner for all services it has rendered if the two sides can’t reach a deal. 

Gold said in an interview Monday that Medicaid recipients enrolled with Louisiana Healthcare Connections who are worried about losing access to Ochsner providers can switch to one of the other plans available. 

Given the current disruptions, state legislators said they will monitor the impasse between Ochsner and Louisiana Healthcare Connections.

“You’re talking about 70,000 patients. That’s my concern,” Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, said during an interview after Monday’s meeting of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, which he chairs. 

It’s not clear what issues have stopped Ochsner and Louisiana Healthcare Connections from coming to an agreement. 

Ochsner released a written statement Monday that said it is working with state health officials to minimize disruptions for Louisiana Healthcare Connections enrollees who see Ochsner medical providers. 

“Like LDH, we are focused on helping ensure Louisiana’s Medicaid beneficiaries have access to the care they need, and we are appreciative of the shared commitment to support patients and communities across our state,” the healthcare network said in its statement. 

In a public post on its website Sept. 22, Louisiana Healthcare Connections said it still hopes to reach an agreement with Ochsner but described its current contract with the healthcare system as outdated. Staff at the Medicaid plan could not be reached for followup questions Monday.

“We believe our members deserve a provider partnership that reflects how healthcare is delivered today, not terms established about 15 years ago that no longer reflect advances in technology, care coordination, quality measurement and member expectations,” its statement reads. 

Even though Ochsner asked health officials to assist with the negotiations, Gold said the agency doesn’t know the details of its dispute with Louisiana Healthcare Connections.

“We’re not privy to the specifics of the contract that they, Ochsner and LHCC, have with each other. So I don’t think I could speak to either what is currently in there or what they’re asking for,” Gold said. 

Since Louisiana Healthcare Connections is funded entirely with public money, the Medicaid plan must also contract with the state. The 2027 extension of its current agreement, worth $5.8 billion, is up for review and approval Thursday with the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. 

Gold said a termination of Louisiana Healthcare Connections arrangement with Ochsner might put the Medicaid plan at risk for failing to provide enough medical providers in various regions of the state. If it violated that portion of its contract with Louisiana, the department could assess the plan penalties, he said. 

“If LHCC was to do this, they better be able to ensure that in South Louisiana or North Louisiana … that there is availability of providers that are Ochsner providers that make up the difference for them,” he said. 

The standoff between the two entities comes at a time of upheaval for Medicaid, which provides publicly funded health insurance to people with low incomes or who are pregnant or have disabilities. 

UnitedHealth pulled its Medicaid plan from Louisiana in April. A second plan, Healthy Blue run by Elevance Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, also announced last month it would exit Louisiana in January. 

The number of people participating in Medicaid has dropped dramatically since Gov. Jeff Landry took office at the beginning of 2024. The program has gone from 1.6 million enrollees to 1.3 million over the past two years as the Landry administration imposed a more aggressive review of its participants’ qualifications.