Highmark and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center reached an agreement , ending their months-long impasse over health coverage for people in Western Pennsylvania through December 2014.

Officials at a Pennsylvania hearing this week questioned how Highmark‘s $475 million acquisition of West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS), a struggling hospital network, would affect its financial solvency and in-state competition.

Highmark officials intend to perform a “complete investigation” of spending in the wake of the firing of CEO Kenneth Melani, whose criminal charges in connection with a domestic dispute with his girlfriend’s husband may be dropped.

Highmark‘s CEO, Kenneth Melani, was fired over the weekend, two days after being put on administrative leave over his alleged role in a domestic dispute involving his girlfriend’s husband.

Similar bills filed in the Pennsylvania House and Senate would give the state more power to negotiate contracts between insurers and health care providers, including Highmark and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

Highmark introduced a new individual insurance plan, effective Feb. 1, that it says offers simple health insurance coverage with a low premium, low deductible and predictable copayment structure.

Delaware’s insurance commissioner approved the affiliation between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware (BCBSD) and Highmark, imposing 49 conditions designed to protect consumers and BCBSD.

A major Delaware insurer, if affiliated with a Pennsylvania insurer, plans to invest $45 million over the next decade to help control in-state health insurance costs and improve health care infrastructure.

A Jacksonville, Fla.-based Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance subsidiary agreed to acquire Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Highmark‘s Medicare subsidiary.

Highmark and the West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS) agreed on a definitive partnership and selected an interim chief executive officer to oversee the implementation of the agreement.