Highmark Health’s National Economic Impact Reaches $18.7 Billion
PITTSBURGH (PRWEB) March 05, 2019 -- Highmark Health’s national economic impact has reached $18.7 billion according to the latest external report from consulting agency Tripp Umbach. As the second largest integrated delivery and finance system, the report underscores the significant financial and community footprint Highmark Health maintains across its core markets of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware.
The report shows Highmark Health entities had a total impact of $6.4 billion direct and $12.3 billion indirect. Direct impact stems from the in-area spending related to items such as capital improvements, goods and services as well as operational costs. Indirect is a derived sum resulting from all secondary spending, like that of employee wages.
In particular, Highmark Health has a long history of providing positive economic impact in Pennsylvania. For this report, which is based on 2017 information, the impact in Pennsylvania is $12.3 billion. That number is larger than the impact from all professional sports teams in the state, as well as the Pennsylvania airline industry.
“This report reinforces that, as the second largest IDFS in the country, Highmark Health is a significant contributor to the communities we serve and our growth strategy continues to positively boost the national economy,” said David Holmberg, President and CEO of Highmark Health. “We are proud to employ thousands across our core markets. Together, we strive to provide a superior customer experience through access to high-quality, affordable care, coverage, dental and more. We also have a huge impact through the goods and services we purchase and the community foundations we support.”
Highmark Health is a large and valuable employer where it has operations and is also a national employer with offices in many regions and states. The company’s impact on employment is derived from people who work directly for Highmark Health and also employees who work for businesses that supply Highmark Health, employees and patients, and vendors with goods and services.
During 2017, Highmark Health had more than 38,000 direct employees and the indirect impact throughout the nation was more than 112,000 jobs. Highmark Health sustains nearly two additional jobs for every direct employee.
“This data is extremely positive when you see how far and wide the reach of Highmark is,” said Gene Barr, the President of the PA Chamber of Business and Industry. “It is also significant when you see the taxes paid and the many community organizations they support. They are an outstanding example of being a positive corporate citizen.”
While Highmark Health is a not-for-profit organization, it still generates a substantial amount of tax revenue. For 2017, that total was $924.6 million across the nation. That includes $575 million in Pennsylvania and part of that total includes more than $421 million of impact in Pittsburgh.
To that end, as Highmark embarks on its strategy to improve upon facilities and break ground on additional access points, it has generated nearly $53.8 million in state and local taxes within the last year.
For decades, Highmark Health and its predecessor companies have proven to be supporters of many community organizations. For example, The Highmark Foundation gave more than $2.9 million in 145 grants in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to support charitable organizations, with special attention paid to causes benefiting women’s health and cancer care.
Highmark Health also supports a diverse workforce which includes supporting competitive employment for people with disabilities. Highmark Health was one of the earliest companies to support Bender consulting. As a result of the partnership, Bender has helped thousands of people obtain competitive employment in their communities. Today, some of the graduates of the program work at Highmark and other leading companies in Pennsylvania.
“Highmark Health is committed to building an inclusive and supportive corporate culture that fosters open dialog and embraces new and innovative ideas,” Holmberg continued. “Diversity of thought, background and perspective strengthens our corporate fabric and benefits our strategy, our workforce and our ability to innovate.”
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Leilyn Perri, Highmark Health, http://www.highmarkhealth.org, 717-215-7835, [email protected]
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