Public health in San Francisco once again will be on the chopping block — with the city’s emergency rooms and substance-abuse treatment programs being trimmed by $2.25 million resulting from state cuts, BeyondChron noted this week.
In total, the city has a shortfall of $20.25 million. The Board of Supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom together agreed to set aside only $18 million in anticipation of the cuts.
The cuts are less than initially expected. The Public Press originally reported that state cuts would total $26.5 million. The state chose to lay off medical workers from Medi-Cal, California’s Medicare program, rather than reduce funds to cities.
The Newsom administration does not want the city to be on the hook for the $1.1 million in state cuts from San Francisco General Hospital’s emergency room. This will likely affect University of California and other physicians, Newsom wrote in a letter to board president David Chiu.
Newsom also wants to replace $1.3 million of the $2 million that were cut from to substance abuse treatment centers.
Public health organizations have already been through the budget ringer this summer. Health organizations bore the brunt of budgets cuts in June, and the Board of Supervisors fought to restore $44 million to social services. In September, the city sent out more than 500 layoff notices, which included 289 certified nursing assistants. The union representing the workers complained that women and minorities were disproportionately affected by the cuts.
