Local 21, along with other San Francisco city employee unions is launching a multi-union campaign to stop Sutter Health Plus (HMO) from becoming a new health insurance option for SF City employees, due to Sutter’s lack of transparency, price-gouging, and anti-competitive behavior. Sutter Medical hopes to increase its business with the City of San Francisco by offering their new HMO plan in competition with Kaiser. On the surface, you’d think more competition is good, but not in this case, and Local 21 will be asking the Health Service Board (HSS) to turn them down. Sutter, as many of you know, is one of the providers already available to City employees through Blue Shield Insurance, and there are few, if any, complaints about the quality of their care.
Quality is important, but not the only consideration. San Francisco spends a staggering amount — more than $700 million a year on employee healthcare and Sutter is a major driver of healthcare cost increases way beyond the cost of living. Many of their practices are being challenged in a major court lawsuit field by the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Trust Fund.
This campaign is time-sensitive because Sutter will be making their presentation to HSS at the April 14 meeting beginning at 1 p.m. at City Hall, Room 416.
Please click here to send your signature along with hundreds of your co-workers to the HSS board asking them to not be tricked into rewarding Sutter’s bad behavior.
