Nearly 100 Highmark Inc. workers lost their jobs Friday as the state’s largest health insurer cuts costs, streamlines some functions with technology and adjusts its operations to deal with fewer members.
Spokeswoman Lynn Seay said the layoffs were not related to the expirations of its contract with health system UPMC, but the insurer did lose insurance customers this year — primarily to competitor Aetna Inc., which has full in-network access to UPMC.
“The actions taken today … are part of Highmark Health’s strategy to help us remain competitive within our rapidly changing industry and meet the organization’s financial and operational goals,” Seay said. “While we don’t expect additional displacements in this area in the immediate future, we are constantly looking at aligning the right people in the right jobs to meet our member needs.”
The Downtown-based company said the layoffs included 66 workers from its HM Health Solutions subsidiary, which provides information technology support to Highmark and other health insurers. The health insurer also laid off about 30 workers from its health plan operations.
The reductions total about 0.5 percent of Highmark’s 20,000 employees and were spread across offices in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia.
Most laid-off employees will be given the chance to apply for other jobs at Highmark or with other companies working with HM Health Solutions, Seay said.
Highmark’s market share in Western Pennsylvania dropped to 60 percent in January, down from 63 percent a year earlier, the insurer reported this month. The decline was driven by a loss of 150,000 employer-group members who were concerned about keeping discounted access to UPMC’s huge network of 20 hospitals and more than 3,500 doctors.
It also lost Medicare Advantage members, but gained individual subscribers throughHealthCare.gov, the federal government’s online marketplace for buying coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Date: February 27, 2015