Is Oak Street Health affiliated with a hospital?
Oak Street Health is not a hospital. It is a network of primary-care medical centers focused largely on adults with Medicare. Oak Street Health became part of CVS Health when CVS Health completed its acquisition on May 2, 2023.
Oak Street Health centers function as doctors’ offices/medical clinics rather than inpatient hospitals.
CVS Health completed its acquisition of Oak Street Health on May 2, 2023.
Oak Street Health currently publishes this number for patients, caregivers and providers coordinating existing patient care.
Current scheduling contact published for people interested in a new-patient appointment.
Used by Oak Street Health for finding a doctor and checking whether a specific insurance plan is accepted.
Oak Street Health says most clinics use these hours, but individual centers can have different schedules.
What hospital is Oak Street Health affiliated with?
There are two different relationships people often mean when they ask this question: hospital affiliation and corporate ownership.
Hospital affiliation
Oak Street Health does not identify one nationwide hospital as its exclusive hospital affiliate.
Oak Street Health’s own patient information says it works with any area hospitals that accept the patient’s insurance.
Corporate affiliation
Oak Street Health is part of CVS Health. CVS Health completed the approximately $10.6 billion Oak Street Health acquisition in May 2023.
Corporate ownership by CVS Health does not mean patients must use one particular hospital for inpatient treatment.
Does CVS own Oak Street Health?
Yes. Oak Street Health continues to operate as a multi-payor primary-care provider within CVS Health. Oak Street Health is therefore a CVS Health care-delivery business, but it should not be described as a CVS hospital.
What happens when an Oak Street Health patient needs a hospital?
Oak Street Health is designed to coordinate outpatient primary care. Hospital treatment is provided by the appropriate local hospital rather than inside a normal Oak Street Health primary-care center.
Does Oak Street Health admit patients to a hospital?
A normal Oak Street Health center is an outpatient primary-care clinic, not an inpatient hospital. If a patient requires hospital admission, inpatient care takes place at a local hospital capable of providing the required treatment.
After discharge, the primary-care team may become important again because follow-up care can involve medication reconciliation, appointments, referrals, home-care coordination and monitoring intended to reduce gaps between hospital and outpatient care.
Oak Street Health phone numbers and patient contacts
Oak Street Health publishes different numbers for different purposes. Use the number that matches what you are trying to do.
| Need | Number / route | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Existing patient / caregiver / provider | (800) 743-1225 | Current patient support and care coordination. |
| New-patient appointment | (855) 932-2073 | Speak with an agent about becoming a patient or scheduling a first appointment. |
| Find a Medicare doctor / insurance help | (888) 812-1183 | Used on Oak Street Health’s official site for finding a physician and checking plan acceptance. |
| After-hours medical support | (888) 994-3560 | Oak Street Health’s medical-clinic guide currently lists this number for after-hours support. |
| Life-threatening emergency | 911 | Emergency medical response; Oak Street Health clinics are not emergency departments. |
| Individual clinic | Varies by location | Best number for exact hours, parking, doctor availability and local appointment questions. |
Oak Street Health clinic hours
Most Oak Street Health medical centers follow weekday business hours, but a national page should not claim that every center uses exactly the same schedule.
Oak Street Health currently says that most medical clinics are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Individual clinic pages should always be checked because local schedules can differ.
South Wayside — Houston
Monday–Friday: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Official location example.
Crown Point — Dayton
Monday–Friday: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Official location example.
Bronzeville — Chicago
Mon: 8–5
Tue: 10–5
Wed–Fri: 8–5
Shows why local hours must be verified.
How to make an Oak Street Health appointment
Oak Street Health offers location/provider search, online booking and telephone scheduling. Same-day or next-day appointments are advertised at many centers, subject to actual availability.
Oak Street Health doctors, names, specialties and schedules
Oak Street Health is a nationwide clinic network, so there is no single doctor roster or one national doctor schedule that would remain accurate for every center.
The official provider directory lets patients filter doctors by location, insurance, language, gender, service and specialty. Common provider specialties shown by Oak Street Health include:
Family Medicine
Primary and preventive care for ongoing health needs.
Internal Medicine
Adult medicine and chronic-condition management.
Geriatric Medicine
Care focused on older adults and complex health needs.
Adult Gerontology
Advanced-practice care for adults and older patients.
Behavioral Health
Behavioral-health support is available through parts of the network.
Podiatry
Foot and ankle care is listed among Oak Street Health’s searchable specialties.
Example of an officially listed Oak Street Health physician
Meredith Mucha, MD
Oak Street Health currently lists Dr. Meredith Mucha as a Geriatric Medicine and Internal Medicine physician. Her official profile lists care at the Eakin center in Columbus, Ohio and the Crown Point center in Dayton, Ohio.
The profile states that she is accepting new patients but that a limited number of appointments may be available online. Oak Street Health does not publish a permanent Monday-through-Friday personal timetable for Dr. Mucha, so exact appointment times should be taken from the live booking system rather than guessed.
What medical services does Oak Street Health provide?
Oak Street Health focuses on coordinated primary and preventive care rather than inpatient hospital treatment.
Primary care
Routine ongoing medical care with a primary-care physician or advanced-practice provider.
Annual wellness care
Preventive visits, health reviews and Medicare-focused wellness planning.
Chronic-condition care
Coordination and ongoing management for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and COPD.
Immunizations
Vaccination services are offered as part of preventive care at participating centers.
Medication support
Care teams can help patients organize medications and request prescription refills.
Behavioral health
Behavioral-health services and related coordination are available within portions of the network.
Specialist coordination
Referral coordinators help patients connect with appropriate in-network specialists.
Lab/testing
Laboratory and testing services are available at participating centers; availability is location-specific.
Pharmacy access
Oak Street Health says many health centers have on-site pharmacies, but not every clinic does.
Phone visits
Some care can be provided by telephone depending on the patient’s needs and clinician.
Video visits
Telehealth/video appointments are part of Oak Street Health’s care options.
Post-hospital coordination
Follow-up and transitional-care coordination may help bridge the period after hospital discharge.
Oak Street Health urgent care, after-hours care and emergency hours
A primary-care clinic’s after-hours phone support should not be confused with a 24-hour emergency department.
Is Oak Street Health open 24 hours?
The clinics themselves generally are not open 24 hours. Oak Street Health instead advertises a 24/7 patient support line so current patients can call outside normal center hours with health questions, prescription-refill needs or appointment requests.
After-hours support
Oak Street Health’s current medical-clinic information lists (888) 994-3560 for after-hours medical support. Its central current patient contact number is (800) 743-1225.
Does Oak Street Health have emergency fees?
There is no national Oak Street Health “ER fee” because Oak Street Health centers are not hospital emergency departments. If emergency care is required, the hospital or emergency facility providing that care bills according to that facility, the services performed and the patient’s insurance coverage.
Oak Street Health appointment fees, visit costs and case fees
Oak Street Health does not publish one national cash “doctor fee” or universal case fee that applies to every patient.
Oak Street Health’s official patient information states that your costs do not change simply because you become an Oak Street Health patient. What you personally owe for a visit depends on your Medicare coverage, Medicare Advantage plan, supplemental insurance, applicable deductible, coinsurance, copayment and the medical services provided.
Is the first visit free?
Oak Street Health does not state that every new-patient medical visit is universally free. Coverage and patient responsibility depend on the patient’s insurance and the service billed.
Is there an Oak Street membership fee?
Becoming an Oak Street Health primary-care patient is not presented as buying a separate Oak Street Health insurance policy or hospital membership.
Are Medicare wellness visits covered?
Coverage depends on the specific Medicare benefit and whether all eligibility and billing requirements are met. Patients should confirm their plan-specific responsibility before service.
Specialist or hospital costs
Hospital, specialist, imaging, emergency and other external-provider charges are separate from Oak Street Health primary-care costs and depend on the provider and insurance plan.
How to find your likely cost before the visit
What insurance does Oak Street Health accept?
Oak Street Health specializes in caring for adults with Medicare, but exact plan participation should be checked for the individual clinic.
Original Medicare
Oak Street Health says it accepts Original Medicare, including Medicare Part B.
Medicare Advantage
Many Medicare Advantage plans are accepted, but the exact plan/network varies by market and center.
Medicare Supplement / Medigap
Oak Street Health lists Medicare Supplement coverage among the forms of Medicare it serves.
Medicare-Medicaid
Dual-eligible Medicare-Medicaid patients may be accepted depending on the applicable plan.
Does Oak Street Health accept Medicaid by itself?
Oak Street Health states that Medicaid can be accepted as secondary insurance to a patient’s primary Medicare coverage. Patients should confirm their exact situation rather than assuming a Medicaid-only policy is accepted at every center.
Common plan names
Oak Street Health location pages may list companies such as Aetna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Wellcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield and other regional Medicare plans. A company name alone is not enough to prove coverage: a specific product/network can still be excluded.
Specialists, referrals and hospital coordination
This is the part of the Oak Street Health model most closely related to the question about hospital affiliation.
Can I keep my current specialist?
Yes. Oak Street Health states that it works with specialists within the patient’s insurance network. Patients who already have a specialist do not automatically have to stop seeing that doctor simply because they select Oak Street Health for primary care.
What if I need a new specialist?
The usual first step is to discuss the need with the Oak Street Health primary-care provider. The care team can then help with referral coordination and finding an appropriate specialist in the patient’s insurance network.
Which hospital will the specialist use?
That can depend on the specialist, insurance network, procedure and local hospital relationships. Oak Street Health does not publish one national rule requiring every patient to use the same hospital system.
What happens at your first Oak Street Health appointment?
Oak Street Health provides a fairly clear official new-patient process.
New Patient Visit
During the first visit, Oak Street Health says the patient meets the new primary-care provider and care team. Staff review how the care model works and a team member can discuss Medicare benefits.
The visit can include:
- Vital-sign checks.
- Review of current and previous medications.
- Discussion of health history.
- Discussion of current health goals and concerns.
- Initial clinical evaluation.
- Insurance and Medicare-benefit review.
- Guidance for updating the listed primary-care provider on the insurance plan if needed.
What should you bring?
Insurance information
Bring all current insurance cards, including Medicare and secondary coverage.
Photo ID
Oak Street Health specifically asks new patients to bring identification.
Medication list
Bring a list of past and current medications; include doses when available.
Doctors and specialists
Bring the names of past and current doctors so the team better understands existing care relationships.
Emergency contact
Oak Street Health asks for emergency-contact information during the new-patient process.
Your questions
Write down symptoms, concerns and questions before the visit so important topics are not missed.
Health Review Visit
Oak Street Health describes the Health Review Visit as the second appointment. The provider reviews medications and long-term conditions, may perform a physical examination depending on the patient’s needs, and discusses vaccines, screenings and next steps.
Oak Street Health patient portal and CVS Health app
Because Oak Street Health is part of CVS Health, patients can use CVS Health’s digital tools to access parts of their Oak Street Health information.
Oak Street Health says patients can use the CVS Health app or browser portal to:
Message the care team
Send questions between visits when portal messaging is appropriate.
View test results
See available test-result information digitally.
View medical records
Access available Oak Street Health record information from the patient account.
Prescription refills
Request eligible prescription refills through the digital account.
Mobile access
Use the CVS Health app on a supported iPhone or Android device.
Browser access
Patients who cannot use the app can access the same portal information in a web browser.
Medical records, test results and prescriptions
Patients do not necessarily need to call a hospital to obtain routine Oak Street Health outpatient records.
The Oak Street Health patient portal provides digital access to available medical records and test results. For records that are not visible online, patients should contact their Oak Street Health care team or center for the applicable records-release process.
If another hospital needs your Oak Street Health records
- Tell the Oak Street Health clinic which hospital or specialist needs the information.
- Ask whether a written authorization is required.
- Confirm exactly which records are needed and the date range.
- Provide the receiving provider’s correct fax/address or electronic delivery information.
- For urgent continuity-of-care requests, tell both providers that the records are needed for active treatment.
If Oak Street Health needs hospital discharge records
Bring or arrange access to the hospital discharge summary, current medication list, test results and follow-up instructions. Those records help the primary-care team reconcile medications and coordinate post-hospital care.
Transportation, parking and getting to Oak Street Health
Transportation and parking are local-center details, but Oak Street Health provides more support than a typical national directory listing.
Transportation to appointments
Oak Street Health says it provides rides to and from doctor appointments for eligible patients. Eligibility can depend on the patient, location and applicable benefits, so patients should arrange transportation before the appointment rather than assuming a ride will automatically arrive.
Parking
Parking varies by center. Many official Oak Street Health location pages state that parking is available onsite. Individual clinic pages may also provide nearby landmarks, public-transportation routes and bus-stop information.
South Wayside, Houston
The center is in a shopping center at the northwest corner of S. Wayside Drive and Gulf Freeway. Oak Street Health lists onsite parking and METRO Bus 28.
Crown Point, Dayton
The clinic is near W. Third Street and N. Gettysburg Avenue in a shopping center with CVS. Oak Street Health lists onsite parking and multiple RTA bus routes.
Before driving to an appointment
- Confirm the exact clinic address.
- Check the clinic’s current opening hours.
- Save the local clinic phone number.
- Check whether parking is onsite.
- Review public transportation if you do not drive.
- Ask about Oak Street Health transportation if you may qualify.
- Confirm whether the appointment is in person, by phone or by video.
Oak Street Health address and map
Because Oak Street Health operates many medical centers, there is no single treatment address that represents the entire network.
Quick decision guide for Oak Street Health patients
Oak Street Health hospital affiliation FAQs
These answers address the questions patients commonly have about Oak Street Health, hospitals, appointments, insurance and emergency care.