UPMC: Seeing fewer Highmark members is business as usual

Although Pittsburgh-based Highmark reports far fewer of its members are seeking care at Pittsburgh-based UPMC facilities so far in 2015 due to the system’s decision not to contract with the insurer, UPMC said it is just business as usual, according to a Pittsburgh Business Times report.

For the past year, Highmark and UPMC have been embroiled in a heated dispute over ending their contractual relationship.

Regarding members not seeking care at UPMC facilities, a Highmark spokesman told the Pittsburgh Business Times, “We have a new world that has been created by UPMC’s decision not to contract with Highmark, and everybody is navigating that new world.”

However, UPMC is disputing Highmark’s claims. A UPMC spokesperson told the Pittsburgh Business Times the 984 Highmark member requests to transfer medical records to Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network — a subsidiary of Highmark — since the first week in October 2014 is right on target and “typical of other years,” according to the report.

UPMC: Seeing fewer Highmark members is business as usual

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