Wednesday, July 24, 2013

San Mateo County Measure A Sales tax, funding public services


San Mateo County Supervisor process in funding Seton Medical Center, Health Plan of San Mateo, and SamTrans paratransit services.

The Daily Journal (San Mateo County), Michelle Durand, 7/24/13.  "Seton gets $11.5 million in county sales tax revenue:  Suervisors tentatively give San Mateo County Transit District $10 million."

Seton Medical Center
Seton Medical Center, Daly City      
SamTrans Redi Wheels paratransit Service
"County supervisors outright approved $11.5 million in Measure A sales tax revenue for seismic upgrades at private Seton Medical Center and tentatively agreed to give the San Mateo County Transit District $10 million over the next two years. ....   However, Seton took a different path with supervisors at Tuesday’s meeting unanimously agreeing to the $11.5 million arrangement between the Daly City hospital and the Health Plan of San Mateo beginning Oct. 1 and running through June 30, 2014.  Supervisors said the agreement was a win all around because the private hospital provides care for a substantial portion of the north county’s low-income population.

....   A similar quest to bolster the county’s safety net also propelled the SamTrans $10 million proposal to subsidize paratransit. Paratransit, which transports those with mobility issues, is federally required but not funded."   Read article.

References -  Seton Medical Center.  "Opened as Mary’s Help Hospital in 1912, Seton Medical Center serves the highly diverse 1.5 million residents of San Francisco and San Mateo counties with a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient services."   SamTrans paratransit, "Paratransit is for persons with disabilities who cannot independently use regular SamTrans bus service some of the time or all of the time. The San Mateo County Transit District provides paratransit using Redi-Wheels on the bayside of the county and RediCoast on the coastside. Trips must be prearranged."

Note: Photographs, Seton Medical Center, Yelp by Joanne O., SamTrans bus from  US Dept of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

My question yet again, Why is taxpayer money going to fix the private hospital Seton?

Anonymous said...

Seten is not only a private hospital, but one of the more expensive ones according to Blue Shield. This hospital turns away people and sends them to the county. They should not be getting tax dollars IMO.

Kathy Meeh said...

Seton currently has the best, responsive health care delivery in our area right now. That's my recent observation, (and in follow-up inquiry apparently there was a an administrative change last year).

Seton's history and track record in caring for the poor should be well enough known, (confirmed by county statistics). The article indicates the $11.5 million is shared "between the Daly City hospital and the Health Plan of San Mateo." And SamTrans paratransit received $10 million.

Anonymous said...

Kathy

Every hospital says they are the best. Like how every realtor is the "top seller"

Everyone know the poor don't pay a dime or just give a fake social security number or say no have social.

The issue is it is a private company that owns the hospital. The same with Kaiser and Mills Peninsula is owned by Sutter Health.

They get no taxpayer money so why should Seton?

Anonymous said...

The reason that Seton got money from the County is the fact that the hospital was going to be closed due to earthquake retrofitting required by the state. That is why Mills built the new building.

Seton is the only critical care hospital in the North County. They serve a large number of poorer clients who would otherwise end up at the County hospital in San Mateo.

Given the cost of starting a new hospital with the cost of land acquisition, construction, start up for equipment, ongoing staffing etc the county found it cheaper to invest the 11 .5 million into Seton rather than building a new building. Most of the money as I understand it will go to retrofitting. If Seton was to close the patients would have to go to San Mateo and I would assume that the hospital there would have to be expanded due to increased traffic and demand, How much would the addition to the existing hospital cost? Better service retrofitting Seton.

This could be considered a kind of outsourcing county health care. What is the difference between Pacifica outsourcing the cops and allowing them to use the police station?

Anonymous said...

Sutter Health paid to build the new hospital.

Measure A funds also were diverting into building the vast Pacifica trail projects.

Sutter Health has also paid over 1 billion dollars in uninsured peoples medical bills.

Why are you comparing health care and the police department. That is like comparing apples to sirloin steak.

Anonymous said...

Then Seton should be forced to accept patients without money instead of sluffing them off to the county. Seton went after a friend for a $3000 emergency room visit, took them to collections even though they asked for help making payments.

Anonymous said...

1:55

No social security number, no collection or judgement.

Hospitals are a business. Sure it all changed. When I was a kid the doctor made house calls, and you paid him when you had the money. Now you get sent to collections every day. A friend of mine works for a hospital and that is what she does all day long, sends unpaid bills for collection.

The only entity that can go on defecit spending is the US Government. Oh wait and the Pacifica City Council.