PITTSBURGH (AP) — Health insurance giant Highmark Inc. received conditional approval Monday from Pennsylvania regulators to take over the financially troubled West Penn Allegheny Health System as part of its plan to compete with UPMC, western Pennsylvania's dominant network, for patients and their health care dollars.
Pennsylvania's insurance commissioner, Michael Consedine, called the takeover a landmark transaction, while proponents of the deal hope it will slow the growth of health care costs and improve health care in western Pennsylvania.
The department's approval comes amid a feud between Pittsburgh-based Highmark and UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's health system. An insurance contract between the two is scheduled to expire in 2015.
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