A judge has ruled that a looming break-up between rivals UPMC and Highmark cannot be delayed.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has sought to modify and extend the five-year agreement that gives Highmark members in-network access to UPMC hospitals and physicians. But, a judge said Wednesday that the court couldn’t extend that agreement without the consent of the parties since Shapiro isn’t pleading “fraud, accident or mistake.”
As of now after June 30, thousands of Highmark patients in western Pennsylvania will no longer have affordable access to most UPMC doctors and hospitals.
Shapiro’s office says he plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court.