On San Francisco

Assemblyman David Chiu has heard the stories - of regular San Franciscans going to S.F. General with appendicitis, broken bones and migraines and getting stuck with a bill for tens of thousands of dollars. Even though they have private insurance. Chiu is teaming with State Sen. Scott Wiener to propose a state ban on all balance billing and cap what hospitals can charge for services at either 150 percent of Medicare’s rates or the average cost of insurance contracts. It would be a big hit to the city’s trauma center’s bottom line, but Chiu says it’s not fair to expect privately insured patients to shoulder such huge burdens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices