UPDATE:

May 2, 2012 – I am delighted to report good news on this issue. An agreement was reached between Highmark and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center so that patients and their families who rely on these services can maintain their care and coverage.

I, and other area lawmakers, joined Gov. Tom Corbett at the state Capitol in hailing the agreement that will allow Highmark subscribers to continue to pay in-network rates for services provided by UPMC hospitals and doctors through the end of 2014.

I applaud UPMC and Highmark officials for working diligently with the appointed mediator on this very important issue for our area. I am glad they took their responsibility seriously and will continue to encourage the two parties to work together every day so that we can maintain continuity of coverage for residents while supporting these important nonprofit providers and employers in our region.

As you may know, I and many other area lawmakers have been urging the two sides to reach an agreement since their contract expired on June 30. I was happy to see Gov. Corbett appoint a mediator to keep the talks going. There are still other things we can do to avoid these stalemates in the future. I am co-sponsoring legislation (H.B. 32) that would strengthen state law related to reimbursement contracts that are set to expire. Under the bill, the state Insurance Commissioner would be authorized to continue a contract for another term if he or she believes ending the contract would not be in the best interest of the public.

Hoping to break the stalemate between health care conglomerates UPMC and Highmark, several colleagues and I have been working to ensure access to health care for 3 million Western Pennsylvanians.

People are worried they will lose affordable access to UPMC's 2,700 doctors and 20 hospitals because these two businesses have been unable to agree on a contract.

To hear my comments on the issue click here. To read more details about the legislative hearing and news conference, click here. I invite you to review some interesting statistics about the two health care conglomerates which are available here.