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HIGHMARK UPDATE
Highmark Health reports stable financial results for 2014
Today, Highmark Health released the 2014 enterprise financial performance, which includes information about Highmark Health Plan, our diversified businesses and Allegheny Health Network hospitals. Details of the results can be found in the press release on HighmarkHealth.org.
Key talking points to use with your clients:
- Despite a challenging year in 2014, Highmark Health remains strong and stable.
- Enterprise revenue increased by $1 billion across all business lines.
- Highmark Health continues to be a financially strong company, maintaining nearly $6.5 billion in cash and investments, and $5.4 billion in surplus.
- This stability allowed us to invest more than $500 million across the enterprise in 2014 to improve health care quality and access for our members, and to create an outstanding customer experience.
- We are reporting full-year 2014 operating revenue of $16.8 billion, an increase of more than 6% over the 2013 full-year operating revenue of $15.8 billion.
- Of particular interest is the fact that approximately one-third of our 2014 revenues came from our diversified businesses. This is in keeping with our plan for diversity as we have sought, and continue to seek, new ways of serving our customers, members and patients, as well as new markets.
- Like many health plans across the country, our 2014 financial results are obscured by our conservative accounting approach related to funding not yet received from Affordable Care Act exchange products. We anticipate full recovery of these funds in 2015.
- Allegheny Health Network continues to deliver on its turnaround plan, demonstrating improved operating results year-over-year.
Highmark and Lancaster General Health partner for value
On March 31, Lancaster General Health (LG Health) and Highmark announced an innovative new partnership dedicated to targeted improvements in quality, cost of patient care and the health care experience in Lancaster County.
The accountable care arrangement, effective January 1, is designed to enhance coordination of patient care, improve health outcomes and eliminate unnecessary spending. Under this value-based payment model, LG Health will provide care team resources and technology to streamline information and support providers in delivering patient-centered care for roughly 27,000 Highmark commercial and Medicare Advantage members in the area. This partnership will involve patients currently receiving care from an LG Health physician (Lancaster General Health Physicians); however, other community physicians will be included in the coming months.
"The current fee-for-service model is evolving to place greater emphasis on health care quality and outcomes, with payment tied to both value and provider performance," said Tom Beeman, President and CEO of Lancaster General Health. "Now and in the future, providers will increasingly focus on keeping people well instead of treating them only when they are sick."
"Highmark is excited to work with LG Health to create innovative new opportunities to improve health care," said Kelly Lieblein, Highmark Blue Shield Regional Vice President. "This new approach will encourage providers to improve the quality and efficiency of care, while stabilizing costs for patients and employers alike."
Accountable care arrangements with rewards for quality and efficiency like the LG Health-Highmark partnership are emerging as payment innovation efforts continue to be deployed across the state and country. The LG Health-Highmark partnership has established focused quality and cost goals that, if attained, will generate savings for consumers and employers.
The accountable care arrangements will be undertaken specifically by LG Health's accountable care organization, the LG Health Community Care Collaborative, which launched in 2014.
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