< Back to News

Uniontown Hospital reaches agreement with Highmark Medicare

06/27/2019

Uniontown Hospital will once again accept Highmark Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs and PPOs beginning July 1.

This includes Security Blue, Freedom Blue and Community Blue managed care products.

“We were able to go back to the table with Highmark and reach a new agreement that will allow area residents with these plans to continue to use our hospital as their local in-network option for care,” Uniontown Hospital CEO Steve Handy said.

The new, long-term deal between Uniontown Hospital and Highmark regarding their Medicare products is also significant as UPMC and Highmark officials announced Monday that they have reached a 10-year-agreement to allow many Highmark patients to use UPMC hospitals and physicians. This move means that many area residents with Highmark insurance will still be able to use the UPMC Cancer Center for care and be considered in-network, as well as UPMC-Childrens Hospital.

The new local agreement came after Uniontown Hospital, which has a long history of open access for area patients, had been unable to reach a deal with Highmark regarding Medicare plans last fall. As a result patients covered by these plans were considered out-of-network on Jan. 1.

Hospital officials worked to help educate patients during last year’s Open Enrollment period to examine their options regarding coverage and choose plans that best suited their needs.

“We wanted to make sure that patients understood what was happening and what choices they had,” Handy said.   

The hospital’s new multi-year agreement regarding Highmark Medicare products does not affect any other Highmark plans, including all commercial plans, which have been and will remain in network at Uniontown Hospital.

Uniontown Hospital accepts all major insurance providers including Highmark, UPMC, Aetna, Cigna and United Healthcare.

The hospital also remains committed to providing emergency care, regardless of a patient’s insurance coverage.

“If you or someone in your family is injured or becomes seriously ill, we will always provide emergency care to any person who needs it, regardless of their coverage or ability to pay,” Handy said.  

 

Download PDF