City Attorney David Chiu and Supervisor Matt Dorsey have called on Blue Shield to maintain UCSF in its network in a move that could leave thousands without preferred healthcare options. The officials penned a letter to the insurer, which was reported by the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, voicing concerns over the possible fallout for Blue Shield members if an agreement with UC Health is not settled by July 10.
San Francisco and California residents depend on the UC Health system, one of the Bay Area's biggest healthcare providers. Blue Shield's plan to remove UCSF from its in-network providers would impact a significant number, approximately 5,000 city employees and retirees, part of the San Francisco Health Service System (SFHSS), and about 35,000 CalPERS members statewide. "It’s almost cliché to say that a health insurance company is putting profits over patients, but that is certainly what Blue Shield is doing," City Attorney David Chiu expressed, highlighting the significant implications of such a move. The repercussions for city employees and retirees could be especially dire, effectively disrupting access to primary care and critical treatments for many, under the SFHSS.
Supervisor Dorsey also commented on the issue, stressing the unfairness of the potential decision by Blue Shield, “For Blue Shield to now materially eliminate these healthcare options — in the middle of a plan year — is, in my view, unfair and potentially a breach of contract," he said, as noted in the letter, per the San Francisco City Attorney's Office. With the health insurer's precarious relations with UC Health, Dorsey supports the City Attorney's pursuit of legal responses to the dispute.
