San Francisco health officials pause new balance bills at Zuckerberg San Francisco General pending policy overhaul

San Francisco’s Department of Public Health (DPH) said it will temporarily stop sending new balance bills to patients treated at Zuckerberg San Francisco General while it reviews and revises its billing and financial‑assistance practices. The pause follows media coverage of patients receiving bills for costs their insurers did not cover.

“On Friday, the mayor’s office, after working with us on this, along with Supervisor Aaron Peskin, put out an announcement that we will be halting, sending out new, balance bills to patients for a period of time while we reevaluate our policies and practices around this issue,” Acting Director Greg Wagner said. He told commissioners the department already has a working group reviewing charity‑care and sliding‑scale policies, patient financial services operations, and communications to clarify charges for patients.

Wagner said the department is also pursuing operational changes to improve communications and counseling so patients can better understand what insurance paid and what avenues exist for financial assistance. He added DPH will look at legislative or policy solutions at the city, state or federal level and will return refined recommendations to the commission.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin has called for a hearing at the Board of Supervisors on the issue, Wagner said. The commission heard that Dr. Ehrlich and other staff have been involved in the multi‑disciplinary review and that the department will bring recommendations back to the commission as they are developed.

Next steps for DPH include finalizing revised financial‑aid policies, implementing operational changes in patient financial services and preparing materials to improve communications with patients about charges and appeal options. DPH officials told the commission they will coordinate with the mayor’s office and with Supervisor Peskin’s forthcoming hearing.