NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 23, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it is taking no rating action on Highmark Inc. (A/Stable/--) following the news that Highmark and Independence Blue Cross (not rated) have withdrawn their applications to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) to merge. In a joint statement, Highmark and Independence indicated that they were ending their 21-month-old merger bid because the PID would not approve the merger unless they were to relinquish the use of either the Blue Cross brand or the Blue Shield brand. Standard&Poor's believes that the loss of either brand would have weakened the combined entity's competitive position in the state. We affirmed our ratings on Highmark on Nov. 11,
