NPR Story on Highmark-UPMC fight

[JPZenger]

Last edited Tue Aug 19, 2014, 10:56 AM - Edit history (2)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/08/19/341399014/pittsburgh-health-care-giants-take-fight-to-each-others-turf

The conclusion of the story is that everything will be much better in the end with the greater amounts of competition.

Personally, I think the problem was that UPMC was allowed to control too much of the health care market, to the point where they had monopolistic power. It is much easier for a new health care insurer to break into the market than a new set of hospitals and doctors' practices.

Meanwhile, millions of dollars were wasted on attack ads against each other. Highmark's mothers have smelly feet.

[femmocrat]

1. This whole thing stinks.

In a nutshell: Highmark has better insurance and UPMC has the best hospitals. I really thought they would come to an agreement. So many people are going to be inconvenienced or worse.

We had to choose and went with Highmark, even though UPMC saved my husband's life once. It's depressing as hell to have to make that decision.

[blue neen]

2. Yes, it stinks to high heaven.

IMHO, there will be people who will die or be harmed because of this. There is no possible way that medical records and other essential info will be transferred properly. No way. Not only will this cause confusion and delays, it will cause deaths.

It's yet another failure on Tom Corbett's record that he didn't get this resolved.