Highmark is a not-for-profit health insurance

Health insurance

Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...

 company based in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is the largest health insurer in Pennsylvania, and through a purchase in 1996, the largest health insurer in West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. As Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, it primarily serves the 29 counties of western Pennsylvania. As Highmark Blue Shield it services 21 counties of Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. There is also a presence in the border areas of eastern Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, and all of West Virginia through its subsidiary Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia. Highmark has a stake in the largest health insurer in northeastern Pennsylvania as well, Blue Cross of North East Pennsylvania BCNEPA. It is currently one of the largest not-for-profit

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 health insurers in the United States which owns several for-profit subsidiaries.

Company history

Highmark was created in 1996 by the consolidation of two Pennsylvania licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a federation of 39 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 100 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of...

 — Pennsylvania Blue Shield (now Highmark Blue Shield) based in suburban Harrisburg

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

, and Veritus, a Blue Cross plan in western Pennsylvania (now Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield). The consolidated group now serves 49 of the state's 67 counties. In West Virginia, the corporation took over the former Mountain State Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The new company based its head offices in Downtown Pittsburgh and features greatly expanded services. In 2011 the company announced it would buy Allegheny Hospital System.

Subsidiary Business

There are several wholly owned for-profit subsidiaries of Highmark. These include United Concordia Companies, Inc.

United Concordia Companies, Inc.

United Concordia is a dental insurance company headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the largest dental insurers in the United States. The company currently insures more than 8 million members worldwide...

, a dental insurer; Davis Vision, a provider of managed care vision benefits; Viva, a designer and distributor of eyeglass frames and sunglasses;Eye Care Centers of America, a vision retail provider offering frames, lens and accessories; and HM Insurance Group, a reinsurer providing stop-loss, limited benefit medical plans, worksite, life, disability, and administrative services.

Community involvement

Highmark is most notably mentioned for its Healthy High 5 Initiative - a pledge by Highmark of $100 million to help combat childhood obesity, and enable more individuals to live longer, healthier lives.

Highmark has consistently contributed charitably to organizations throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Highmark awarded a $25 million pledge to the Penn State University so a new children's hospital can be built in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

In 2010, Highmark developed the Highmark Blue Shield Living Legacy Series to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The series includes oral histories from 150 Harrisburg residents, using the ground-breaking Digital Video Library (DVL) technology created and pioneered by Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

. Among the Harrisburg 150 are Pedro Cortes (Pennsylvania's longest serving Secretary of State), Graham Hetrick (Dauphin County Coroner) and many more. These histories represent an encompassing cross-section of personal stories that provide Harrisburg its unique character.

Consolidation with Independence Blue Cross

On March 28, 2007, Highmark announced that it intended to consolidate with Independence Blue Cross

Independence Blue Cross

Independence Blue Cross is a health insurer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Together with its subsidiaries, IBC is one of the largest health insurers in the five-county southeastern Pennsylvania area of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. IBC...

of Philadelphia. The combination of these insurers would have created a new company with over 18,000 employees, with dual-headquarters in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The new company would have had an economic impact of over $4 billion throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On January 22, 2009, Highmark and Independence Blue Cross withdrew their applications to consolidate. This was due to the unacceptability of conditions that the Pennsylvania Insurance Department was going to place upon the merger http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09022/943659-28.stm.