On June 24, 2019, Highmark and UPMC announced a 10-year agreement that ended their longstanding feud over access to health care services in Western Pennsylvania. The agreement was welcomed with open arms by many residents of the region who had long been affected by the bitter battle between the two healthcare giants.
The agreement meant that Highmark members would still be able to access UPMC doctors and hospitals for in-network rates until June 30, 2029. This was a major relief for the nearly 2 million Highmark members who would have otherwise been shut out of UPMC facilities.
The resolution of this issue was the result of an extensive negotiation that began in 2011, when Highmark announced plans to acquire West Penn Allegheny Health System. UPMC, which had long been the dominant healthcare provider in the region, saw the acquisition as a threat to its business and decided to cut ties with Highmark.
This led to a bitter and protracted legal battle that resulted in the expiration of Highmark`s access to UPMC facilities in 2019. This left many Highmark members in a difficult situation, as they were forced to either pay out-of-network rates to continue seeing their UPMC doctors or switch to doctors within the Highmark network.
The new agreement between the two healthcare giants is a welcome relief for the residents of Western Pennsylvania, who can now rest easy knowing that they will be able to continue receiving care from their preferred doctors and hospitals.
The agreement also includes several other provisions, such as the creation of a joint venture to provide “high-value, low-cost health care services” and the establishment of a dispute resolution process to resolve any future issues between the two organizations.
Overall, the Highmark-UPMC agreement is a positive development for the healthcare industry in Western Pennsylvania. It shows that even the most bitter and protracted disputes can be resolved through negotiation and compromise, and that the needs of patients should always be the top priority.