PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 talked one-on-one with state Attorney General Josh Shapiro about the UPMC-Highmark battle with the deadline quickly approaching.
Nearly 200,000 people in our area could lose their doctors.
"It’s outrageous! It is wrong. It flies in the face of logic," Shapiro said.
That’s just a small part of what Shapiro had to say about UPMC’s refusal to see Highmark insurance patients once the consent decree between the two health care giants ends on June 30.
UPMC has not commented this week – but argued in court earlier this year that changes to the consent decree would permit Highmark to steer patients away from UPMC and exclude UPMC entirely when it suits Highmark’s needs.
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Shapiro says if UPMC wants to continue to operate as a nonprofit, it must serve all people regardless of insurance carrier.
“I just asked the Supreme Court to take this up before the June 30 deadline and put something in place...to extend the consent decree or at least stay the coverage that exists today so people don’t have to worry about losing it," Shapiro said.
We asked Shapiro how quickly he thought the Supreme Court would act, and he said hopefully soon.
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