University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Pittsburgh-based health insurer Highmark have reached a tentative agreement to settle four years of antitrust litigation, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report.
The agreement would end the case filed by Pittsburgh-based West Penn Allegheny Health System, which is now owned by Highmark, against UPMC. It would also dismiss UPMC's similar lawsuit against Highmark. In a frank summary, as provided by UPMC spokesperson Paul Wood, the agreement would end "all of the antitrust litigation between Highmark, West Penn and UPMC," according to the report.
Details of the agreement have yet to be released. Attorneys objected to reading the terms of the pact aloud yesterday, as members of the press were present, according to the report.
Consensus was reached after District Chief Judge Joy Flowers Conti ordered UPMC's and Highmark's attorneys to her jury room and told them they would be there "as long as it takes." They emerged more than two hours later with an agreement in principle, according to the report. It must first gain approval from West Penn's board, which meets Oct. 31.
The dismissals of the cases also would not resolve a separate lawsuit filed by property management company Royal Mile against UPMC and Highmark. Royal Mile and several other private plaintiffs accuse both organizations of using their market power to inflate healthcare costs.
The agreement also wouldn't cancel the pending contract breakup between Highmark and UPMC. Highmark customers won't have in-network access to most UPMC hospitals after 2014.
More Articles on UPMC and Highmark:
UPMC Demands Highmark Withdraw 2009 Antitrust Suit
New Judge for 2009 UPMC-Highmark Lawsuit Adds Sense of Urgency to Case
UPMC Answers West Penn's Antitrust Suit; Claims Highmark is Monopolistic