Health insurer Cigna has voiced concern for the "competitive landscape in western Pennsylvania" due to a pending deal between Pittsburgh-based Highmark and West Penn Allegheny Health System, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report.
In a letter submitted to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department June 1, Cigna's director of state government affairs, Patrick Gillespie, said the payor is particularly concerned "about the interplay between this purchase and the recently announced contract settlement between Highmark and UPMC," according to the report.
He is worried the renewal of business talks between the two organizations could lead to a "most favored nation" relationship, with each offering the other better rates than those offered to other providers/payors in the region.
UPMC and Highmark struck a revised agreement in May, allowing Highmark customers access to all UPMC facilities until January 1, 2015. That contract had previously been designed to expire mid-2013.
Cigna "prefers that market forces be allowed to operate," which would allow for "an earlier contract termination date," according to the report. This is the payor's first on-the-record statements about the West Penn-Highmark deal since the UPMC-Highmark extension was announced.
UPMC Answers West Penn's Antitrust Suit; Claims Highmark is Monopolistic
Payor-Provider Integration: Anatomy of the Highmark-West Penn Deal
In a letter submitted to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department June 1, Cigna's director of state government affairs, Patrick Gillespie, said the payor is particularly concerned "about the interplay between this purchase and the recently announced contract settlement between Highmark and UPMC," according to the report.
He is worried the renewal of business talks between the two organizations could lead to a "most favored nation" relationship, with each offering the other better rates than those offered to other providers/payors in the region.
UPMC and Highmark struck a revised agreement in May, allowing Highmark customers access to all UPMC facilities until January 1, 2015. That contract had previously been designed to expire mid-2013.
Cigna "prefers that market forces be allowed to operate," which would allow for "an earlier contract termination date," according to the report. This is the payor's first on-the-record statements about the West Penn-Highmark deal since the UPMC-Highmark extension was announced.
More Articles on Highmark, UPMC and West Penn Allegheny Health System:
Judge Denies UPMC's Request to Halt Antitrust Case; Discovery Period BeginsUPMC Answers West Penn's Antitrust Suit; Claims Highmark is Monopolistic
Payor-Provider Integration: Anatomy of the Highmark-West Penn Deal