The chairman of Greensburg-based Excela Health told state Senate committee members Wednesday that Highmark had threatened to “destroy” Excela if the three-hospital Westmoreland County health system did not play ball with the Pittsburgh insurer.
Jim Breisinger made his comments at a public hearing before the Senate majority policy committee regarding the impact of the apparent separation of UPMC and Highmark when their current contract expires in 2015.
The charges were disputed by Highmark, which said that it wants to be a partner to suburban hospitals and still hopes to cooperate with Excela, and noted that it had given Excela nearly $10 million in technology grants over the last two years.
Mr. Breisinger said Excela has tried to remain neutral in the conflict between UPMC and Highmark, as both are important to Excela and its patients. In prepared remarks, he said Excela had a good relationship with Highmark until the insurer announced plans to acquire the West Penn Allegheny Health System and build its own care provider network.
He said Highmark tried to acquire Excela, asked to become a partner in Excela’s Irwin medical complex and wanted majority ownership in its network of 150 physicians. When Excela declined, he said, Highmark said that the insurer would buy or affiliate with all independent practices on Excela’s staff and build nearby ambulatory centers.
“The threat was clear — if Excela did not enter into an acquisition or affiliation with it, Highmark would use its monopoly position to destroy Excela.”
He added that Highmark held a recruitment meeting for Excela’s medical staff in March and recently got letters of intent to hire “15 to 20 of our medical staff members.”
Although Excela is financially strong now, he continued, “the risk, however, is that one or both of these titans could use their monopolistic power to weaken Excela. If this were to happen, worst case, our friends and neighbors would be forced to leave Westmoreland County to receive care.”
via Excela: Highmark threatened to destroy us – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.