Highmark reports $22B in revenue

Highmark Health reported Tuesday that its health care system earned $22 billion in revenue last year, up $301 million from the year before.

Highmark employs 37,000 people and provides health insurance coverage to patients in the Mid-Atlantic region. It is the parent company of Allegheny Health Network, which operates 14 hospitals in the Pittsburgh area.

“As we shift from a covid-19 pandemic to an endemic environment, we are looking forward and building for the future,” said Highmark Health President and CEO David Holmberg. “We are doubling down on a living health model.”

The 2021 operating gain of $301 million was down from 2020, when operating gains were $490 million. Holmberg said the dip in operating gain was intentional because the company made substantial investments last year, including funding into a new hospital in Wexford.

“We believe these are really important for the long-term value of the community,” said Holmberg.

Holmberg said AHN Wexford Hospital, which opened in September, has become the health system’s second-busiest hospital in terms of delivering babies. Holmberg also noted that Highmark and Allegheny Health Network partnered to send seven truckloads of supplies and other financial contributions to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, in a partnership with the local Brother’s Brother Foundation.

Highmark said it spent $1.4 billion in community investments in 2021. The health-care giant maintained a balance sheet of more than $12 billion in cash and investments and net assets of more than $10 billion, as of the end of 2021.

Patient volumes increased for Highmark in 2021, and are approaching pre-pandemic levels. Core health insurance plan and Blue Card membership increased slightly over 2021 with approximately 6.8 million Highmark members and total commercial retention rates at 98%.

Holmberg said Highmark remains the largest health insurer in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and western New York.