Highmark-UPMC deal brings relief to local patients, employers
By David Bruce, Erie Times-News, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Their reaction to the agreement? Relief.
"Every single person I have talked to has expressed relief," said Dausey, dean of
The agreement, brokered by Gov.
Most
Negotiations on a contract with all UPMC hospitals stalled when Highmark announced in 2011 it was buying the
The agreement allows Highmark members in northwestern
"The Patients First continuity of care provision, and provision of referrals and transfers of patients to out-of-network facilities hold the member harmless," Billger said in an e-mail. "They are treated as in network."
In addition to Highmark members, the deal also seems to benefit Hamot.
The
"The agreement is important, but it's not a question of being in Highmark's network but giving patients who want to come to Hamot the ability to come here for medical care," said
The number of patients in Hamot's intensive care units had declined in 2014, but that is because of internal changes and not the insurance market, Long said.
"We have added critical care physicians and opened up a number of intermediate unit beds that have allowed us to make changes in the ICUs that allow faster patient throughput," Long said. "Patient census numbers in the ICUs are affected by many different things. Our inpatient admissions are up and our surgical numbers are up."
Hamot now employs eight critical care specialists, up from four in late 2012. Specific admission and surgery numbers were not available from Hamot on Friday afternoon.
How the deal will affect Saint Vincent isn't as clear. The hospital has provider contracts with both Highmark and
Repeated efforts to reach Saint Vincent officials were not successful.
"I see it as a status quo for Saint Vincent," Dausey said.
"This deal isn't going to hurt them per se, though they could have gained had the deal not been made."
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