New York, NY - MetroPlus Health Plan announced today that Oladipo Alao M.D., MPH has been named Associate Medical Director, HIV Services. Dr. Alao comes to MetroPlus with nine years of clinical HIV experience including post-doctoral training as a Fellow in Infectious Diseases at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation's Harlem Hospital Center where he served as Attending Physician and Infectious Diseases Clinic Medical Director. Prior to that, during his residency, Dr. Alao was Senior Administrative Resident (Internal Medicine) also at Harlem Hospital.

Board certified in both internal medicine and infectious diseases, Dr. Alao received his MBBS at the College of Medicine University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. He received a Masters in Public Health (Epidemiology) from Columbia University. He has published articles in peer-reviewed Journals and received the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute 2007 Linda Laubenstein Award for Excellence in Clinical HIV care.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Alao,” said Van Dunn, M D., MetroPlus Medical Director. “His clinical and administrative experience makes him the ideal person to lead Partnership in Care, our HIV SNP (Special Needs Plan).”

MetroPlus Health Plan has enrolled over 3,894 members into its HIV Special Needs Plan (SNP) as of October 2010, more than any SNP in New York State. MetroPlus is a prepaid health services plan that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest municipal health system in the United States.

Anyone who has Medicaid, is living with HIV/AIDS, and lives in Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx or Queens, can join Partnership in Care. A parent enrolled in the Partnership in Care plan can also enroll their children up to age 21. Approximately fourteen percent of the HIV SNP membership is composed of infants and children.

In addition to the HIV SNP program, MetroPlus also offers other government-sponsored health insurance including Medicaid, Family Health Plus, Child Health Plus and four Medicare Advantage plans including one for people with HIV/AIDS.

In operation for over 20 years, MetroPlus offers a vast network of primary care doctors and specialists, including many independent community providers. The Plan emphasizes member education by providing numerous health education resources, including an award-winning, multilingual, quarterly member newsletter, and other strategies to help members get the most out of their health plan. MetroPlus' robust case management programs encourage members to partner with their providers to promote the best possible health outcomes. MetroPlus staff, who speak more than 70 languages, are drawn from the communities the health plan serves.

MetroPlus Health Plan, Inc. is a prepaid health services plan certified under Section 4403-a of the New York Public Health Law and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC).

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