UCSF STANFORD: Regents Reaffirm Support of Merger
The University of California Board of Regents "reaffirmed their commitment to the financially troubled UCSF Stanford Health Care merger yesterday," urging critics to "stay the course for awhile," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. UC-San Francisco Regent Sue Johnson said, "Give it a chance to work. The reasons for the merger are still there and I fully support it." Their support followed a report detailing $60 million in losses this year, as well as the need to cut $170 million in operating costs to "break even next year" (Russell, 7/16). Critics at the regents' meeting, which did not include a formal vote on the merger, "told of the terrible consequences of shutting down Mount Zion's emergency room and remaining 209 hospital beds" -- a key part of the cost-cutting plan, which will be considered on July 23. Yesterday, state lawmakers attempted to pry open the hospital system's records, which Regent Howard Leach said, "could cause the Stanford half of the board to bolt," adding, "I think it would be fatal to the merger. Stanford made it very clear that they wanted this to be a private institution" (Torassa, San Francisco Examiner, 7/15).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.