Highmark, UPMC reach agreement until 2015

Gov. Tom Corbett announced Highmark and UPMC have reached a deal to provide Highmark insurance customers with in-network access to all UPMC physicians and hospitals through 2014. Mr. Corbett said he brought the two Pittsburgh health companies together several weeks ago to negotiate with the help of a third-party mediator, David F. Simon, the executive vice president and chief legal officer of Jefferson Health System in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The governor did not elaborate about how the state would prompt the feuding companies to reach an accord but he noted the benefits Highmark and UPMC receive from their tax-exempt status as non-profit institutions.