Western Pennsylvania has been watching the unfolding melodrama between UPMC and Highmark for months now and the sides seem to be further apart than ever. There's no end to media coverage of the war between the two, including countless letters to the editor bemoaning the greed of both agencies and the absolute disregard for patients and providers alike. Yet Highmark isn't doing anything wrong. They continue to attempt to negotiate with the unbending atrocity that is UPMC but without success. Consumers are being bombarded with scare tactics, including advertising campaigns from both organizations. Perhaps worst of all, we're subject to whiny self-righteous op-ed pieces by UPMC executives who, despite their education and credentials, appear to be quite ignorant on various fronts, not the least of which is the basic matter of how to do business. UPMC has no ground to stand on in this matter because their entire argument is nothing but hypocritical whining and excuses that don't hold up against facts.
UPMC's logic is that UPMC performs some great service to consumers by offering insurance but that it's just not fair for Highmark to provide care. Again and again, UPMC insists that they "can't" do business with Highmark as an insurance company if Highmark provides care. In other words, we flatly refuse to do business with people who follow the same business model as our own. That's a bizarre stance for any company to take, be it for profit or not. UPMC is clearly unwilling to complete on a level playing field. They're demonstrating in no uncertain terms that they require a special handicap in order to maintain their existing operations. They can only exist as a monopoly. Why else would it be ok for UPMC to be an insurer but unacceptable for Highmark to offer care?
UPMC is determined to flex it's muscle at any costs because their only goal is to wipe out the other hospital system in Pittsburgh. They're banking on the UPMC provider network being big enough that subscribers will flock en masse to other insurers, taking away much of Highmark's business and sufficiently denting their income enough to prevent Highmark from breathing life into WPAHS. For UPMC, that would kill two birds with one stone by removing any hope for WPAHS's survival while cutting off their biggest insurance competition at the knees thus taking Highmark insurance from a powerhouse competitor to a mere gadfly.
UPMC wants to pretend that they're helping consumers by offering better rates to other insurers at the expense of dropping Highmark but that's simply not true. Those insurers have always offered plans covering UPMC providers, often at lower premiums than Highmark, yet Highmark has always maintained market dominance in this area even with higher premiums. UPMC has offered no evidence that consumers will benefit from better contracts with other insurers. Where are the full-page newspaper ads showing the reductions in premiums that subscribers to non-UPMC insurance will realize under the new deal? UPMC had plenty to say in all those ads railing against Highmark saving the last bastion of choice for patients in Pittsburgh, so surely they can offer some sensible data to support their unequivocal declaration that "there will be no contract with Highmark."
No contract between Highmark and UPMC will be the killing blow to WPAHS and with that, consumers will never have any autonomy over their healthcare decisions because we will all be completely at the mercy of UPMC providers, as will the remaining insurers.
UPMC's logic is that UPMC performs some great service to consumers by offering insurance but that it's just not fair for Highmark to provide care. Again and again, UPMC insists that they "can't" do business with Highmark as an insurance company if Highmark provides care. In other words, we flatly refuse to do business with people who follow the same business model as our own. That's a bizarre stance for any company to take, be it for profit or not. UPMC is clearly unwilling to complete on a level playing field. They're demonstrating in no uncertain terms that they require a special handicap in order to maintain their existing operations. They can only exist as a monopoly. Why else would it be ok for UPMC to be an insurer but unacceptable for Highmark to offer care?
UPMC is determined to flex it's muscle at any costs because their only goal is to wipe out the other hospital system in Pittsburgh. They're banking on the UPMC provider network being big enough that subscribers will flock en masse to other insurers, taking away much of Highmark's business and sufficiently denting their income enough to prevent Highmark from breathing life into WPAHS. For UPMC, that would kill two birds with one stone by removing any hope for WPAHS's survival while cutting off their biggest insurance competition at the knees thus taking Highmark insurance from a powerhouse competitor to a mere gadfly.
UPMC wants to pretend that they're helping consumers by offering better rates to other insurers at the expense of dropping Highmark but that's simply not true. Those insurers have always offered plans covering UPMC providers, often at lower premiums than Highmark, yet Highmark has always maintained market dominance in this area even with higher premiums. UPMC has offered no evidence that consumers will benefit from better contracts with other insurers. Where are the full-page newspaper ads showing the reductions in premiums that subscribers to non-UPMC insurance will realize under the new deal? UPMC had plenty to say in all those ads railing against Highmark saving the last bastion of choice for patients in Pittsburgh, so surely they can offer some sensible data to support their unequivocal declaration that "there will be no contract with Highmark."
No contract between Highmark and UPMC will be the killing blow to WPAHS and with that, consumers will never have any autonomy over their healthcare decisions because we will all be completely at the mercy of UPMC providers, as will the remaining insurers.
No comments:
Post a Comment