Highmark, UPMC Agree to Another Extension
A contract extension will allow more time to work out issues surrounding a dispute between insurer Highmark and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Governor Corbett says Highmark and UPMC will extend their agreement through the end of 2014.
The extension came after the Governor appointed David Simon, Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Jefferson Health System in Southeastern Pennsylvania, to act as a mediator. Governor Corbett thanked Simon and members of the General Assembly for helping resolve the dispute over in-network coverage.
The dispute began after Highmark announced a takeover of the West Penn Allegheny Health System. UPMC said that made Highmark a direct competitor to its system.
While Corbett did not sit at the negotiating table, he says he did encourage officials from both sides to find a resolution, or the state would get it done for them. He says he and the legislature were in agreement they were not going to let the people of Western Pennsylvania live in with anxiety over the situation, keeping in mind both institutions were nonprofits that had received a great deal of benefit from that status.
He says they sent a clear message that these two institutions had a tremendous responsibility to deal with their disagreements and not affect the people of Western Pennsylvania the way they were.
The Governor’s office says Highmark and UPMC will be negotiating access to unique UPMC services beginning in 2015, including Western Psychiatric Institute, certain oncological services and community hospitals.
