Share ThisWhen I was starting my professional career, everyone turned to the newspaper and to network TV for their news. I remember watching NBC’s Today Show every morning before work to learn about what was happening across the nation and across the world.
Now, news and opinion come to us in so many forms and so fast. And sometimes that’s for the good and sometimes for the bad. Think about what the Ice Bucket Challenge has done for ALS by bringing awareness across social media to a debilitating and deadly disease. Also think about the videos of natural disasters — floods, tornadoes, fires — that make their way into our television and social media viewing every day. Everything we see is so real and so personal.
In western Pennsylvania, we have watched a very public battle between Highmark and UPMC over the last year. There have been television ads from both organizations trying to raise attention for the issues of health care in our region. It’s fair to say that whatever the purpose and however effective, they contributed to a tone in the marketplace that represents a challenge to overcome.
When I took the helm at Highmark Health a few months ago, one of the first actions I took was to stop the television ads.
I didn’t want the public to see continued fighting. I wanted them to see answers. I didn’t want them to think that we’d lost sight of what’s important — our customers.
Since then, we have worked out a roadmap for our relationship with UPMC, and while there are still details that continue to be discussed on a daily basis, we want our members and the entire community to know that we are working on their behalf. Our daily focus, our hourly focus, is our customers.
That’s why we’ve come back with one more TV ad that just started running to bring closure to the unsettled western Pennsylvania market and remind our customers that we’re fully focused on their needs.
Here is the message I share in that ad:
I’m David Holmberg. It’s not often in life or in business that you get a chance to have a new beginning. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening at Highmark Health. The last few years have been too unsettled here in western Pennsylvania, and it may have appeared that what was lost was the focus on you and your family. I want to personally assure you that we’re rededicating ourselves to you and the community.
I believe our future together is very bright. The Highmark Health family has made it our mission to help you get the health care you need and the peace of mind you deserve. Health care is personal — it’s about you and the people closest to you. We know you look to us for security in times of need. Well, you have my promise that we will continue to invest in products, services, and facilities that meet your health care needs now and for years to come.
Health care is changing, and at Highmark Health we intend to lead that change, because putting people first is the right thing to do.
There will be a different health care market in western Pennsylvania in 2015 when UPMC officially leaves the Highmark network. We have worked to preserve protections for our members who use UPMC so they are cared for when and how they need it. That’s our focus.
And as we watch the news and read our social media feeds over the next few weeks, I hope that we see a united western Pennsylvania health care market that feels like — and is — a place where people can get world-class health care no matter what insurance card they carry. That’s putting people first.
David L. Holmberg is president and chief executive officer of Highmark Health, a $27.1 billion blended health organization that includes one of America's largest Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers and a growing regional hospital and physician network. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Highmark Health's 44,000 employees serve millions of customers nationwide through the nonprofit organization's affiliated businesses, including Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, HM Insurance Group, United Concordia Dental and enGen.
One of the nation's most influential and transformative health care executives, Holmberg is helping to shape the future of this fast-evolving industry. He has proactively and regularly engaged with trade associations, regulators, peer organizations, strategic partners, and government entities — both regional and national — to resolve critical health care issues and ensure the equitable treatment of Highmark Health's patients, policyholders, and business customers. Read More
Highmark Health and its subsidiaries and affiliates comprise a national blended health organization that employs more than 42,000 people and serves millions of Americans across the country.
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Need to find info about providers, prescriptions, coverage, claims, ID cards, or health spending or savings accounts? If so, your Highmark member site is the place to go. (It’s separate from this blog.)