Latest news with #MattDorsey
San Francisco Chronicle
01-07-2025
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
UC Health, Blue Shield extend contract deadline, stave off disruption of care
UC Health and Blue Shield of California, which are at an impasse over the terms of a new contract that could disrupt health care for thousands of Californians, have extended the deadline for reaching a new agreement from July 9 to Aug. 9. This means the thousands of Californians who get medical care at UC Health through Blue Shield of California — including many in the Bay Area who go to UCSF and One Medical, a UCSF affiliate — have an additional 30 days of breathing room before potentially having to find a different health insurer or pay out-of-network rates for services if UC Health and Blue Shield cannot reach a new contract. UC Health and Blue Shield have been renegotiating contracts to establish how much Blue Shield will reimburse services provided by UC Health hospitals, clinics and other facilities. One Medical is an affiliate of UCSF Health, one of the six UC Health academic medical centers statewide. Contract negotiations between health care providers and insurers are routine and often involve disagreements over reimbursement rates. In recent years, the tenor of such negotiations has grown more public and combative, often with each side accusing the other of taking positions that would ultimately harm consumers through higher prices or less accessible medical care. Late last week, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and Supervisor Matt Dorsey waded into the matter, urging Blue Shield to finalize an agreement with UC Health so that the roughly 5,000 city employees and retirees who go to UCSF for medical care will not lose access to critical medical services. Last year, UC Health and Anthem Blue Cross, another major insurer in California, similarly had a dispute over contract terms that lasted months. The two sides eventually reached a new contract. In the Bay Area, the outcome of the negotiations between UC and Blue Shield could impact residents insured by Blue Shield who get care at UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland. It includes people in CalPERS plans, employer plans, Covered California plans and Medicare plans (including Medicare Advantage) offered or administered by Blue Shield. The negotiations do not affect UCSF Health Community Hospitals at Saint Francis and St. Mary's, which will remain in-network. Both UC Health and Blue Shield said Monday that they hope to reach a new agreement and avoid interruptions for their patients and members.
San Francisco Chronicle
24-04-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Letters: Why adding ‘abstinence' to S.F. drug recovery policy can do more harm than good
Regarding 'S.F. drug crisis: Battle brews over adding one sentence to city's recovery policy' (Bay Area, April 19): San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey says that recovery from addiction entails 'abstinence from illicit drugs.' While this definition is one way to view recovery, it is not the only one. Recovery from addiction is not as simple as Dorsey makes it seem. In fact, framing it in this way can be harmful to people whose journeys of recovery are more complex than total abstinence from illicit drugs. As a public health student, one of the most important takeaways of my education is a deeper understanding of the circumstances that lead people to unhealthy situations and lifestyles. Dorsey's definition puts the road to recovery in a box by failing to consider the individual circumstances that might affect a person experiencing a drug addiction. I oppose Dorsey's proposal to amend San Francisco's recovery policy. I urge the Board of Supervisors' Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, which will hear this proposal on Thursday, to also oppose it. Alyanna Asuncion, Berkeley Reform could fund schools Regarding 'Beloved East Bay performing arts school to close, leaving students without a stage' (Arts & Entertainment, April 21): The impending closure of the Contra Costa School of Performing Arts is yet another tragic reminder that charter schools are not an effective solution to the issues found in traditional public schools. Schools must be places where students feel a sense of stability. This is essentially impossible at most charter schools because more than 25% of them close before the five-year mark. Contra Costa School of Performing Arts will close after just nine years. Instead of taking this neoliberal approach to education, we should invest in truly public schools that support students' passions. Many traditional public schools in California have vibrant theater and arts programs. The key is funding the school well, which is challenging given the financial strangulation placed on our public education by Proposition 13. If we reform Prop. 13 and make corporations pay their fair share in property taxes, we could restore billions annually to our public schools and communities. All students deserve the chance to attend supportive and well-resourced schools, and the best way to do that is by taxing corporations. Olivia McHaney, San Francisco Ban glue traps Regarding 'San Francisco could ban popular type of mousetrap' (San Francisco, April 21): San Francisco should follow in the footsteps of West Hollywood and Ojai (Ventura County) and ban cruel glue traps. These torturous devices entrap animals in powerful adhesives and tear them apart as they struggle to escape. Victims often suffer for days before succumbing to starvation, dehydration or blood loss. The traps are also indiscriminate and endanger birds, butterflies, lizards, squirrels and many other wildlife species, along with companion animals and small children. Glue traps have no place in a civilized society, particularly when far more humane methods are readily available. Hailey Hanson, San Francisco Running on empty You people who think everyone should get out of their cars and walk 50 or 60 miles to work everyday, who think there is no need for fuel to bring supplies to the Bay Area, who think it is fine if Sacramento politicians mandate fuels that no one else on Earth makes and forces it on the public no matter the cost. Well, your time has come. When this refinery shuts down, and no one else is stupid enough to bring it back to life, you will have to explain to the voters why gasoline in California costs $9 per gallon. Maybe then (but probably not) the people of California will wake up and get rid of the feckless politicians ruining what was once a great state. No wonder everyone who can leave is doing so. John Madden, Tiburon
CBS News
05-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
San Francisco supes pass amendment to ease office-to-housing conversions
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Tuesday amending the city's planning code in an effort to encourage the conversion of commercial buildings into housing. The amendment will remove some fees and application deadlines for certain downtown spaces being converted from non-residential to residential use. Development impact and inclusionary fees—the largest source of city-imposed costs for commercial to residential projects—will be waived for these projects. City staffers have estimated that about $70,000 to $90,000 can be saved per unit for these developments. Projects that were approved before this year and have yet to be granted construction permits are also allowed to request a modification to their development impact fees. The resolution will also abolish the December 2028 application deadline for the Commercial-to-Residential Adaptive Reuse Program, which the city established in 2023 to streamline approvals by easing zoning and building requirements for office-to-housing conversions. Mayor Daniel Lurie sponsored the resolution along with cosponsors Supervisor Matt Dorsey and Supervisor Danny Sauter. Nine supervisors voted in favor of the resolution and Supervisor Shamann Walton voted no. The amendment was originally proposed by former mayor London Breed as part of her plan to boost occupancy in a downtown struggling with office vacancies and to transform the area into a 24/7 neighborhood. It is also intended to remove bureaucratic barriers to getting housing built as required by the state to meet the city's Housing Element, a mandate that San Francisco must deliver 82,000 residential units by 2031 in order to meet the housing needs of its residents. "Transforming vacant offices into housing will help drive our recovery downtown while creating new homes for San Franciscans," Lurie said in a press release last week when the resolution was passed by the supervisors on first reading. "This is a win-win for our city thanks to the new era of collaboration at City Hall so we can create a thriving, 24/7 downtown that benefits both residents and business," he said.
