PITTSBURGH, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
announced today that three years of preparations have apparently headed off
any potential data-processing problems related to the so-called "Y2K bug."
"All of our systems and programs appear to be correctly processing 21st
Century entries in date fields," said Donald L. Morchower, Highmark's senior
vice president and chief information officer. "Although we can't be certain
that each of the hundreds of vendors and other organizations with whom we
normally trade data won't report a problem in the future, we are very
optimistic that things will continue to run smoothly."
Y2K has turned out to be a "non-event" at Highmark, which should be viewed
as welcome news to the approximately 2.5 million people served in Western
Pennsylvania by the company.
"Providing peace of mind to the community has been at the core of our
mission since the 1930s," said Morchower. "We viewed the Y2K challenge as a
critical part of that mission, and committed the required resources to making
sure we would succeed."
To ensure its readiness for the Year 2000 data-processing environment,
Highmark dedicated 500,000 man-hours inspecting, testing and renovating its
hardware and software -- including mainframe, mid-range and personal computer
applications. About 50,000 computer programs, involving more than 40 million
lines of computer code, were analyzed and certified. Some 10,000 personal
computers were inspected and upgraded as necessary.
With $7.5 billion in annual revenues and nearly 18 million customers
nationwide, Highmark Inc. ranks among the country's top health insurers.
Highmark was created in 1996 through the consolidation of Blue Cross of
Western Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Blue Shield. Highmark's product
portfolio includes traditional health insurance coverage, managed care health
plans, life and casualty insurance, and dental and vision programs. The
company does business as Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Western
Pennsylvania, where it has more than 2.5 million members. Throughout the rest
of the state, Highmark does business as Pennsylvania Blue Shield, working with
the Blue Cross Plans located in the Central, Eastern and Northeastern regions.
SOURCE Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
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Related links:
http://www.highmark.com
CONTACT:
Aaron Billger of Highmark, 412-544-7826 or
Abillger@highmark.com
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