Highlights • Highmark Health Plans

For more Pennsylvanians: A health plan for the future

In June, Highmark Inc. concluded its merger with Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, welcoming 550,000 members into the Highmark health plan business in Pennsylvania through commercial health plans, Medicare Advantage plans and Affordable Care Act plans.

For the people of northeastern and north central Pennsylvania, the merger provides many benefits. Highmark is able to offer members the strength and the security of an insurer with the scale, partnerships, technologies, cultural competency, and products and services needed both today, and to answer the health care demands of the future.

"The health care marketplace is uniquely dynamic and increasingly complex and challenging," explained Deborah Rice-Johnson, president, Highmark Health Plan. "Highmark's strong presence across Pennsylvania allows us to partner with top hospital systems and physicians to provide our members with more affordable products and better medical care. We look forward to bringing our new members in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania the best health care experience of their lives."

On Jan. 1, 2016, many of the commercial group customers and individual members in the northeastern and north central Pennsylvania region transitioned to new Highmark products for their coverage, with other groups to follow on July 1. Highmark products now provide group customers with access to more value-based benefits, for example, so groups can offer coverage options to employees with less cost sharing and fewer financial barriers to preventive and maintenance services, ensuring that employees can access the care they need to get and stay healthy.

And individual members who have transitioned to Highmark products can now benefit from access to expanded provider networks and more specialized customer service. Plus, all Highmark members in the northeastern and north central Pennsylvania regions will see enhanced wellness programs to help with eating a balanced diet, increasing physical activity and managing chronic illness such as diabetes.

As new Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield signs were installed on buildings in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania, it was a harbinger of better health care to come. Highmark is expanding upon its opportunity to get health care right for new customers in new communities.