Eight things to know:
1. Highmark Health reported total operating revenue of $18.8 billion, up 2.8 percent from $18.3 billion the year prior.
2. The company’s health plan business reported an operating gain of more than $510 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, down from $750 million the year prior.
3. On the provider side, Allegheny Health Network reported total operating revenue of $3.3 billion, a nearly 7 percent increase year over year.
4. Allegheny Health Network also reported an operating gain of $39 million, up from $29 million in 2017.
5. Allegheny Health Network’s strong financial results occurred amid a 2.4 percent increase in combined total discharges and observations and a nearly 4 percent increase in physician visits compared to the year prior.
6. Highmark Health ended 2018 with net income of $570 million, down from the nearly $1.1 billion record results in 2017, which included a one-time gain associated with the sale of portion of the vision business.
7. Highmark Health said in a press release that the company’s sustained financial growth has allowed the organization to continue to make significant investments totaling more than $470 million in its integrated delivery and finance system. Key investments in Allegheny Health Network in 2018 totaled nearly $350 million, including investments to provide access to care closer to home such as four new neighborhood hospitals; five community cancer care centers and an academic cancer center at its flagship Allegheny General Hospital; new and renovated emergency departments; and enhanced women’s health services.
8. David Holmberg, president and CEO of Highmark Health, said in the release: “We’ve made much progress in building a strong enterprise since we formed Highmark Health six years ago, as reflected in our strong 2018 financial performance improvements across all of our business units — the second highest results in company history, surpassed only by the record results we reported in 2017. People are staying with us and moving to us, and as a result, we believe we continue to be very well-positioned for the long term and remain on course to getting healthcare right for our customers, members and patients.”
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