Why S.F. General's bills are so damn high

Now that San Francisco General Hospital’s sketchy billing practice—in which privately insured patients are personally on the hook for their bills—have been revealed, there’s a central question: Why are the bills so high? From $34,000 bumps and bruises to $92,000 appendectomies, these amounts are outrageous because of the ever-inflated hospital “chargemaster.” That’s the list of rates, which is approved each year, no questions asked, by the mayor and the Board of Supervisors, who admit they had no idea what they were voting on. City Hall reporter Trisha Thadani interviews columnist Heather Knight about the latest in the billing scandal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices