Dive Brief:
- Q1 financial reports seem to suggest that UPMC had no trouble recovering from its December, 2014 split with Highmark, the most dominant health insurer in its region.
- During the first quarter of 2015, the health system reported almost no change in patient revenues when compared to the first quarter of last year.
- According to a UPMC spokesperson, the split had "very minimal" impact on demand for UPMC services.
Dive Insight:
The contract between UPMC and Highmark was terminated in December of last year after Highmark acquired West Penn Allegheny Health System, a UPMC rival, and then invested millions in the new system. Officials at UMPC, which also owns a health plan, said that move ended any hopes of negotiating a contract with Highmark. Revenue from insurance enrollment at UPMC has increased 9% since the contract with Highmark was terminated.
It appears that UPMC planned ahead for its upcoming split with Highmark. Pittsburgh expert Albrecht Powell said in a related article that UPMC added or expanded coverage with several other national insurers, including Aetna, CIGNA, HealthAmerica and United HealthCare; it also added an option for individual subscribers to its own health plan. Highmark subscribers can also still use UPMC physicians and hospitals, but have to pay out-of-network rates.