Michelle Downey
Prime and Highmark
Prime Healthcare announced today that its three hospitals in southeastern Pennsylvania will now be participating in Highmark Blue Shield Plans effective January 1, 2024. The three hospitals — Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol, Suburban Community Hospital in East Norriton and Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia — have entered into Pennsylvania Insurance Department and Pennsylvania Department of Health approved in-network provider contracts with Highmark Inc. on behalf of itself and its affiliate health plans.
Founded in 2001, Prime Healthcare has emerged as one of the nation’s leading health systems. Prime Healthcare operates 45 hospitals in 14 states and more than 300 outpatient locations nationwide, including urgent care centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and specialty clinics.
“We are delighted to announce our collaboration with Highmark Blue Shield,” said Sonia Mehta, MD, MBA, the CEO of Region II, corporate chief medical officer & chief academic officer responsible for the three Pennsylvania hospitals.
“This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our commitment to providing exceptional healthcare services to our community,” Mehta said. “With Highmark’s unwavering dedication to quality care and innovative insurance solutions, together, we will pave the way for a healthier and brighter future for all our patients.”
Prime Healthcare joins Temple Health, Penn Medicine, Doylestown Health’s Doylestown Hospital, Grand View Health’s Grand View Hospital, Crozer Health and Jefferson Health as an additional hospital system that has entered into separate agreements with Highmark Inc. and its affiliate health plans in Southeast Pennsylvania.
“We are continuing to build our presence in southeastern Pennsylvania and are pleased to add Prime Healthcare’s hospitals,” said Dan Tropeano, Highmark’s segment president for commercial segments in southeastern Pennsylvania. “The Prime Healthcare hospital system is certainly outstanding and is recognized with awards from many leading healthcare names including the American Heart Association and for patient safety by Healthgrades. They also have an impressive history of giving with charitable donations of more than $9 billion since 2010, so they share our mission of supporting the communities we serve.”
Prime Healthcare is recognized among the best health systems in the nation by Truven Health Analytics as a Top 10 and 15 Health System in the nation three times and was the only health system recognized with the prestigious 2021 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for addressing social determinants of health. Prime Healthcare ranks among the top 10 health systems in the nation for social responsibility and cost efficiency, according to the Lown Institute.
About Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region: Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region is part of Prime Healthcare, an award-winning health system operating 45 acute care hospitals in 14 states. Prime Healthcare Pennsylvania Region includes Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia, Lower Bucks Hospital in Bucks County, and Suburban Community Hospital in Montgomery County.
Prime’s hospitals in Pennsylvania are certified by The Joint Commission as Primary Stroke Centers and have won multiple awards through Healthgrades and the Get With The Guidelines Quality Achievement Awards though the American Heart Association.
Our hospitals offer medical, surgical, and emergency care, which includes diagnostic radiology, lab services, behavior health, heart care, rehabilitation, family medicine, wound care, and residency programs.
Through high quality medical care, educational programs, and community outreach services, our hospitals treat all members of our communities with respect and compassion.
About Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation: Prime Healthcare is an award-winning health system operating 45 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states, providing over 2.6 million patient visits annually. It is one of the nation’s leading health systems with nearly 50,000 employees and physicians dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare. Fourteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. Based in Ontario, California, Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a Top 10 and Top 15 Health System by IBM Watson Health. Its hospitals have been named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 58 times and have received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards from Healthgrades than any other health system in the past six years. To learn more, please visit www.primehealthcare.com
About Highmark Blue Shield: Highmark Inc., doing business as Highmark Blue Shield, protects Pennsylvania individuals and families with a range of high-quality, affordable and reliable health insurance solutions. As the only Blue Shield licensee in Pennsylvania, Highmark Blue Shield has a long and successful history of delivering remarkable experiences in Southeastern Pennsylvania through the Federal Employee Program. Highmark Blue Shield earned a Brand Excellence Award from the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, in recognition of its efforts in building brand strength and providing superior customer service, solid financial performance and enrollment growth. Highmark is also annually recognized as a “Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality” from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” through the Disability Equality Index® a leading national benchmark established jointly by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability: IN. Highmark Blue Shield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.