Information intended to assist and inform consumers as the contract between Highmark and UPMC is set to expire at the end of the year is now available, according to Senator Scott E. Hutchinson. Highmark’s transition plan can be viewed by visiting the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s website, insurance.pa.gov, or by clicking on a newly established site, StayInformed.pa.gov.
“This information is particularly important for Highmark customers in the five-county Pittsburgh area, including Butler County. They are the ones who could be affected the most by the end of the contract. This transition plan is intended to ensure that they continue to receive the highest quality of care and do not face an interruption in services,” Senator Hutchinson said. “Highmark customers using health care facilities outside the five-county area won’t be impacted by the end of the contract.”
The filing of Highmark’s transition plan follows extensive work of a task force assigned by Governor Corbett and led by Insurance Commissioner Mike Consedine and Department of Health Secretary Michael Wolf. The task force met with Highmark and UPMC senior management and facilitated discussions, along with the Office of the Attorney General, to reach consent decrees with the two entities outlining a preliminary transition agreement, which was announced on June 27.
The task force and its related efforts, including the filing of the transition plan, were aimed at making sure that Pennsylvanians in the western part of the Commonwealth have clarity about their future health care.
Contact: Justin Leventry (717) 787-9684