Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1141789
29 29 CEO/STRATEGY UPMC enters unprecedented 10-year contract with Highmark By Morgan Haefner P ittsburgh rivals UPMC and High- mark entered into an agreement that allows Highmark members to access UPMC hospitals and physicians at in-network prices for the next decade. Talks that led to the agreement, an- nounced by Pennsylvania Attorney Gen- eral Josh Shapiro June 24, began after UPMC President and CEO Jeffrey Ro- moff spoke with Mr. Shapiro directly. Mr. Shapiro, who is in an ongoing legal battle with UPMC over the dispute, said he then spoke with Highmark CEO David Holm- berg before bringing the two together for "honest, tough and productive dialogue," Mr. Shapiro said during a press briefing in Pittsburgh. The 10-year agreement spans across western Pennsylvania and includes an ex- tension of agreements between Highmark and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pitts- burgh and UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, also in Pittsburgh. The new agreement is different than state-brokered consent decrees that were set to expire between UPMC and High- mark June 30. The agreement, which Mr. Shapiro said is the longest deal UPMC has ever made with a commercial insurer, will only stand between the two companies and exclude the state government. UPMC said June 24 that after a June 14 decision from the Commonwealth Court stating Highmark members will lose in-network access to many UPMC physi- cians, "UPMC held a productive, conge- nial meeting with Highmark to outline its offer to provide in-network access to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center for High- mark members with a suspected or con- firmed cancer or hematologic diagnosis. Those discussions then quickly expanded to other areas, and an agreement in the best interests of the patients and commu- nities we serve was reached." n California hospital CEO gets no-confidence vote from medical staff By Ayla Ellison M edical staff at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif., part of CommonSpirit Health, unanimously approved a no-confidence vote in the hospital's president and CEO in late May, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Tensions have grown between medical staff and hospital administrators in past months, with physicians publicly expressing concerns about how the hospital is being run. In mid-May, hospital leaders faced backlash from medical staff for severing ties with its anesthesia provider. On May 23, physicians sent a letter to leaders of Chicago-based CommonSpir- it informing them of the no-confidence vote in St. Mary Medical Center Pres- ident and CEO Carolyn Caldwell. Fifty-eight physicians signed the letter, and others who supported the no-confidence vote requested their names not be included for fear of retaliation, the letter stated, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. In response, CommonSpirit said it is confident in Ms. Caldwell's leadership abilities. "We remain confident that Carolyn Caldwell will continue to provide the lead- ership necessary for St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach to achieve the pa- tient care and healing ministry goals for the hospital and its surrounding com- munity," CommonSpirit President and COO Marvin O'Quinn wrote in a letter to medical staff, according to the report. n 3,800+ ATTENDEES FROM HOSPITALS AND HEALTH SYSTEMS ACROSS THE NATION REGISTER BY AUGUST 1, 2019 AND SAVE! CELEBRITY KEYNOTES BY 5TH ANNUAL HEALTH IT + REVENUE CYCLE CONFERENCE OCTOBER 9-12, 2019 HYATT REGENCY | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS REGISTER HERE www.beckershospitalreview.com/health-it-revenue- cycle-conference registration@beckershealthcare.com, jcole@beckershealthcare.com, sbecker@ beckershealthcare.com or 800.417.2035. Hear 215+ speakers from hospitals and health systems - focused on Health IT and Revenue Cycle 215+ GREAT HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SYSTEM LEADERS SPEAKING Hilary Clinton Secretar y of State U.S. Senator for New York Peyton Manning NFL Legend Kevin O'Leary MBA, Chairman, O'Shares ETF Investments, and Star, ABC's Shark Tank