With a June 30 deadline fast approaching, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has granted a request by the state, along with health insurer Highmark, to decide whether consent decrees between Highmark and health care network UPMC should be extended indefinitely until litigation between the two feuding companies is resolved.

The bitter fight between Highmark and UPMC centers on their inability to reach an agreement regarding UPMC’s continued treatment of Highmark insureds. From 2002 until 2012, the companies operated in accordance with a 10-year provider agreement under which UPMC agreed to treat and bill patients with Highmark insurance according to negotiated rates, court documents said. But in 2011, ahead of the termination date of that agreement, UPMC announced it would not renew or renegotiate the pact, citing Highmark’s planned affiliation with West Penn Allegheny Health System, which ultimately was approved, creating an entity in direct competition with UPMC.