S.F. hospital deal could raise health care costs
Source: SF Chronicle
There is growing concern among some city leaders that a controversial deal Mayor Ed Lee has struck with California Pacific Medical Center to build a 555-bed hospital on Cathedral Hill will undermine San Francisco's efforts to control health care costs.
While the mayor has lauded the complex, 229-page agreement as a jobs generator that will bring the city's hospital network into the 21st century, the deal has raised concerns about how much of the $2.5 billion construction project will be passed on to consumers. The project would overhaul the Sutter Health affiliate's medical facilities across the city and build two hospitals that meet state seismic safety mandates.
Because the medical center provides health care for some city workers and retirees, the fear is that taxpayers could foot the bill for increased health care premiums for those workers in the form of taxes and fees paid by residents, businesses and visitors. Overall, it's unclear how much of the construction costs may be passed on in rate increases, although the city's deal with the center includes a cap on rates it charges to Blue Shield for city coverage.
"In the end, it's the consumers who are paying for this," said Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, a political ally of the mayor and a fiscal hawk.
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