NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) June 4, 2015--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on Highmark Inc. are unaffected by the announced completion of Highmark's merger with Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BCNEPA). This announcement comes on the heels of approval from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department allowing the company to merge under the umbrella of Highmark Inc., operating under the Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield brand. We view this merger as playing to Highmark's strength of executing on its strategy to consolidate with other Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, while gaining operational efficiencies and scale in its markets. This merger allows Highmark to add scale in its core Pennsylvania market, especially in the Pocono Mountain and Wyoming
