Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato said he is the only person who can speak about his future after he leaves office next month.

And he said today that he had no comment on his plans.

Mr. Onorato issued his no-comment late this afternoon after his spokeswoman, earlier in the day, called the report that her boss would join insurance giant Highmark after his term ends in January a rumor.

KDKA-TV reported on Friday that Onorato would take the private-sector job with Highmark.

"No one on my staff is authorized to comment on my plans," Mr. Onorato said. "I have consistently said 'no comment' about anything I am doing after I left office, and I did not authorize anyone to speak on my behalf."

Earlier in the day, spokeswoman Judi McNeil said she had spoken with Mr. Onorato and "he called it a rumor and said he didn't know where it was coming from."

Neither Mr. Onorato's "no comment" nor a similar statement from Highmark spokesman Michael Weinstein appear to have closed the door on the question of whether Mr. Onorato would take a job with the health insurer.

Mr. Weinstein's only statement today was that it was company policy not to comment on personnel or staffing issues.

Mr. Onorato, who decided not to run for a third term as county executive, will leave office after eight years in that post. Before that he served two terms as a Pittsburgh councilman and as county controller. He ran as the Democratic candidate for governor in 2010 but lost to Tom Corbett.

Were Mr. Onorato to take the senior position with Highmark, he would find himself in the middle of an acrimonious public dispute between two of the region's most powerful organizations.

Highmark, the leading health insurance provider, has been unable to reach a new service contract with UPMC, the region's largest operator of hospitals and medical practices.

UPMC ended contract negotiations when Highmark announced plans to acquire the hospital giant's largest local competitor, West Penn Allegheny Health System. If the two sides ultimately fail to reach terms on a service agreement, people with Highmark health insurance would find themselves facing higher out-of-network charges for treatment at UPMC facilities and by its physicians.

Local and state elected officials have weighed in on the dispute, urging the two sides to return to talks. UPMC's nonprofit status has come under increased scrutiny by county council and by legislators in Harrisburg.

UPMC has beefed up its own political connections. Last year the health-care provider hired a veteran former state senator, Sean Logan, for a newly created post, vice president of community relations. Mr. Logan, who had represented Monroeville and other communities in the county's eastern suburbs, resigned in August 2010 after 10 years of service to take the UPMC job.

First Published: November 21, 2011, 5:30 p.m.