“The announcement of the 10-year agreement between UPMC and Highmark provides much needed relief to so many of our residents who experienced the terror of being shut-out of their hospitals and being kept from their physicians and healthcare providers. I applaud Attorney General Shapiro, Governor Wolf and others who have fought to ensure this access.

However, this moment would not have been possible without the thousands of regular citizens who made their voices heard and stood up against these mega-charities to defend their right and their neighbors’ rights to healthcare access. While this agreement is a welcome development, we still need to finish the job with legislation that puts an end to all uncertainty, so that 5 or 10 years down the line, no entity can use our healthcare as a bargaining chip.

And, all of us in Allegheny County and beyond must continue to battle to return UPMC to its charitable mission. That such an agreement needs to be signed by a “purely public charity” only serves to underline the absurdity of what UPMC has subjected us to over these years in its quest for market dominance. It would be as if a soup kitchen needed to sign an agreement to allow the hungry to be fed or a homeless shelter to let people sleep for the night. Our residents deserve a charity that lives up to its title. Hopefully this agreement offers the first step in this journey.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Brad Korinski
412-350-4627, Brad.Korinski@AlleghenyCounty.US