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Today, the
Pennsylvania Attorney General announced that he has brokered a
relationship between Highmark and UPMC. The organizations agreed to
a 10-year contract offering full in-network access to Highmark
members in certain health products including UPMC in Pittsburgh and
in Erie.
We released the following statement
from David Holmberg, Highmark Health President and CEO
Today’s news about a contract between
Highmark and UPMC fulfills the promise to our community that we at
Highmark Health have strived to achieve for the last five years:
Consumers and patients have two outstanding health systems, in
addition to our many independent community hospitals, to choose
from for their care.
This announcement brings the certainty of health care access to
thousands of people in our community. It marks a significant step
forward for our region.
On behalf of our employees, clinicians and all of those we serve,
I’d like to thank Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro for
his leadership and advocacy in helping to broker this new day for
health care in Western Pennsylvania.
It’s important to remember that five years ago Highmark took bold
steps to preserve health care choice in this region by investing
more than $2 billion in the exceptional care and services
provided by AHN in the Pittsburgh and Erie regions, including a
nationally recognized cardiac team that boasts the #1 heart
transplant program in the state and a top 10 program in the
country; a cancer institute that collaborates with the world
renowned Johns Hopkins cancer center to offer leading-edge
innovation and cancer treatment capabilities; and a women’s health
program that is setting new standards for the treatment of women
with post-partum depression, among many other examples.
We created AHN in service to the community and to preserve 17,000
health care jobs, a number that has grown to more than 20,000
today. We plan to continue growing AHN to meet the needs of
patients throughout the region.
Together, Highmark and AHN are recognized as national leaders in
the development and delivery of a community-focused, value-based
care model that focuses on keeping patients healthy, and providing
effective health care options in convenient, close-to-home
settings. This is the future of health care in our country and
Highmark and AHN have been at the forefront of the transformation.
While the contract terms and conditions between Highmark and UPMC
will be finalized throughout the next few weeks, beginning July
1 all Highmark members will have full in-network access to UPMC if
their health plan includes UPMC in their health care provider
network.
What
does this mean for members?
Freedom Blue PPO/Security Blue HMO-POS Message:
- The announcement of an
impending contract with UPMC means that your plan’s coverage
includes continued in-network access to UPMC.
Community Blue Medicare in Western PA Message:
- You are in a high-quality,
lower-cost Medicare Advantage plan that does not include UPMC
as an in-network provider.
- The contract announcement
doesn’t affect plans like Community Blue.
- Community Blue PPO can continue
to enjoy UPMC out of network benefits as they have in the
past.
For more
information, visit AskHighmark.com.
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