Key findings from a CHCF issue brief on Health Care in the San Francisco Bay Area include:
- Although two hospital systems account for half of inpatient discharges, as a result of geographic barriers, much of health care delivery occurs within local submarkets.
- Health care providers weathered the economic downturn comparatively well, with hospital systems showing strong financial performance. However, county hospitals and smaller safety-net hospitals continued to struggle. Health reform and other developing trends are expected to tamp down revenues in coming years. Substantial seismic construction projects underway raise concerns that hospitals may not be able to pay debt obligations in the face of declining income.
- Bay Area providers and health plans are aggressively aligning. Health plans and providers formed narrow-network accountable care organizations (ACOs) in 2011. Safety-net providers are working to coordinate care through the medical home model, while a surge of physicians and hospitals have collaborated to expand geographic reach.
CHCF and Center for Studying Health System Change San Francisco Bay Area: Health Care Providers Shift Allegiances as Regional Networks Emerge. December 2012.