It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

UPMC and Highmark have agreed to extend their contract until June 30, 2013. Until then, people who have Highmark health insurance will not have to pay out-of-network fees. Certainly, this is good news. Credit goes to Jay Costa, Dan Frankel, Randy Vulakovich, Don White and all those state legislators who put pressure on UPMC to negotiate, and to Governor Corbett, whose unnamed mediator is said to have brokered the deal.

However, Highmark customers may want to hold their applause. News reports don't say whether there have been any changes in the financial terms of the contract for the period between June 2012 and June 2013. It's still possible that Highmark policy holders face an unpleasant surprise the next time new rates are announced. More importantly, this is not a permanent solution to the problem. A UPMC spokesperson pissed on everyone's parade by stating, “This date provides 18 months for UPMC patients to review the multiple competitive health insurance options now available to assure that their care will continue uninterrupted with UPMC physicians and hospitals.” In other words, UPMC's refusal to negotiate with Highmark will continue. Highmark customers with pre-existing conditions have been given a stay of execution rather than a pardon.

On November 29, Ed Grystar, Chuck Pennaccio and Tony Buba published an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette pointing out how the ongoing conflict between these two corporate psychopaths shows how much we need a health care system administered by people who are accountable to the public—a single payer or Medicare-for-all system. This new agreement gives single payer advocates another 18 months to keep repeating this argument to anyone who will listen.