Sansum Buyout?

May 4, 2023, 8:38 am 13.8k Views 53 Comments

By an edhat reader

Friends who work in the local healthcare industry have been talking about Sansum Clinic getting closer to a buyout deal.

I haven’t heard any details but seems like there’s a lot of murmurs about it. Does anyone know who the buyer might be?  

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Written by Anonymous

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53 Comments

  1. I have only been to Sansum Clinic one time, for an exam for medical insurance. It was to a dermatologist practicing there. After his examination, he said, “Let me do this little thing here.” He proceeded to spray my cheek with some cold spray and used his fingernail to scrape my skin. When I went out to pay for the examination, there was an additional charge of $125 for what he had done. I was never told what the condition was that was “treated”, what my options were to do treatment or not, what the charge would be, what the consequences would be if I did not do treatment, or anything. I complained that I did not make informed consent for the procedure and refused to pay. During subsequent months, I was repeatedly billed for the costs of the procedure and eventually sent to collections. I then wrote the CEO of Sansum and told him that I would take him personally to Small Claims Court if he did not cancel the charges. He then agreed to remove the fees, but he said that I could no longer go to Sansum Clinic for any reason. This condition has persisted ever since; I am blocked from making an appointment with them. I am also a doctor and know that doctors are obligated to provide information about what they do, including consequences and what would happen if nothing was done. This is a big failing in the health care industry, in my opinion. My experiences with Sansum is that they try to bill for as much treatment as they can, and being an HMO provider, often patients are not even aware, as long as they are not having to pay out of pocket. This just drives up the cost of healthcare for everyone.

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    • 11:06 absolutely has it correct. Never/ever/everrrrr verbally or on paper threaten to take someone to court. Simply take them to court, otherwise things like not being able to go to Sansum (or whoever you legally threatened). I personally would have paid the bill and kept my mouth shut so I could get continued care at Sansum. It’s like sending food back to the chef at a restaurant saying that they didn’t make your food correctly. I’ve been in kitchens where food had been sent back, then returned to the customer. Like the chocolate pie in the movie ‘The Help’ …. yeah, that’s often the reality when you send food back or threaten to take someone to court. Plus, when you threaten legal action, the word gets around and next thing you know you have to go to County Health for your medical needs.
      On the other hand, fantastic that you held your ground and got the charges removed. I totally applaud you for standing up for yourself!

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  2. I really hope it’s another healthcare complex like UCLA or Dignity that will take over and give Cottage a run for its money. Really sick of this monopoly system Cottage has created. Lest we forget they have bought out every other competitor in the past 20 years, attempted to merge with Sansum, and now OBGYN care is solely dependent on Sansum and Cottage. We need change and competition for these healthcare systems to get with the times and stay current instead of complacent.

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    • @6:24 – More silly goose statements! You must not have a loved one working in healthcare to keep you up to date. I’ll break it down for you. SBCounty does not get the same reimbursement rates as counties surrounding SF and LA. We’re considered more rural and small town so the paybacks are less, meaning the wages/salaries are less. So doctors would rather live in an LA suburb and pay less for a larger house with a ton more options for housing, schools, and everything else AND get paid 30% or more in salary.
      And the “bureaucracy” is referencing the old white men running these joints who are a-ok with keeping things like 1980 instead of implementing newer techniques, technologies, latest research initiatives, etc etc etc. Healthcare is a business after all so the admins need to make their $600,000 salaries regardless and the shortfalls land on everyone else.

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  4. I tried to switch my primary care doctor in the Sansum system and was told the new doctor, who was listed as taking new patients, had a first available appointment in 18 months. Staying with the doctor I found unpleasant and robotic I would typically wait 3-4 months for an appointment. I switched to UCLA in Montecito and got in the same week and liked the doctor very much. UCLA has just opened a new second clinic next to Goleta Valley Hospital. I hope they are the buy-out option, I think their systems and staff are far more efficient.

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  5. Lucky they did the same thing to me. When I found out yesterday that my current doctor was leaving in June, they told me to go look up all the doctor’s in Internal Medicine and get an appointment to meet them. All the doctors say they are taking new patients (in my mind all of us existing patients who need to find a new doctor should be first priority) but the first available appointment I could get was in December or January and some of those doctors were ever further out. Sansum sucks!

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  9. As I said earlier:
    May 5, 2023
    Dear Central Coast community,
    We are excited to share that Sansum Clinic and Sutter Health are planning to enter into a strategic partnership to provide even greater access to high-quality care to the Central Coast for years to come. We have entered into exclusive discussions with each other, signing a non-binding letter of intent this week, and expect to formalize our partnership in the coming weeks. We look forward to a structured integration process designed to strengthen our ability to bring more resources to meet the healthcare needs of our patients and provide them a more connected, seamless experience.
    For more than a century, Sansum has been dedicated to improving the health of Central Coast communities. Sutter Health has shown that same dedication during our more than 100 year-history with a commitment to making a positive impact on health across the diverse communities we are privileged to serve.
    Sansum and Sutter share common values and a not-for-profit mission of providing exceptional care across our communities. We even have shared history in being among the first few medical foundations of our kind in California.
    In bringing together two storied, not-for-profit health systems, we intend to provide even greater access to excellent, high-quality care along the Central Coast, including more primary care and ambulatory multi-specialty care currently in high demand in the region.
    Together, we will continue to expand access to primary and specialty care in Santa Barbara and learning and integrating best practices from both our organizations. We plan to continue working with our existing partners to serve our mutual patients while also bringing more physicians and clinicians to the region, expanding services and impacting more lives.
    As health systems across the country face increasing industry and financial headwinds, from increasing labor and supply costs to caring for an aging population, this partnership provides us the resources necessary to invest in best serving our patients and communities for generations to come.
    We are committed to keeping you updated on our progress as we undertake this partnership and look forward to answering questions as more details become available.
    Sincerely,

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  13. Sansum has been struggling since the pandemic due to the money they lost from closures. Sansum provides a lot of excellent care! Samsung and cottage have tried to merge because of the economies of scale being beneficial to both, but it wasn’t allowed. Cottage provides a lot of good care.
    That said no health care provider in town can pay their employees enough to live here. The mayor and city council have ignored the please of affordable housing activists and citizens for many years.
    UCLA may take over Samsung but they will have the same problems retaining help.

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  14. Just so you know, UCLA has taken over the pacemaker biz in SB and it was kind of undercover, as in they didn’t inform you when it happened.
    My local cardiologist changed my provider to UCLA WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.
    Sorry but UCLA, UCSF, Stanford etc. have shitty care.
    If you want to live don’t go to a UC facility.
    There is a reason its called a practice.
    Want to dispute that I will give you the proof.
    I went to Cedar-Sinai because when i had problems they have solutions.
    Non profit is always the way to go.

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  15. “I would assume they are not going to Idaho, Indiana, Texas, Florida and such where their decisions are fraught with risk of criminal prosecution.”
    My dermatologist did not perform abortions in between her freezing and cutting, so I’m guessing she will be Ok in Texas.
    Texas pays CA wages to skilled medical professionals with a much lower cost of living. I know two women who work in out patient surgery centers who went to TX, saved enough money to down pay on a home here and then got their jobs back here moved back

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  18. I am sure that for most of us who are getting care via Sansum we will continue to get excellent care. Unfortunately, medical doctors are leaving the state in droves. The doctor shortage is one of the reasons why medical schools in Cali are lowering their admission standards to crank out more “doctors.” Many of these medical doctors are leaving to states where medical malpractice insurance is less, pay is higher, newer facilities (hospitals, clinics, etc.), cheaper rent for medical office space, and clientele who are happy/happy/happy and appreciative of their new doctors. The common talking point is that it’s “good riddance” to these medical doctors because they are strictly/predominantly right-wingers is a complete and utter fallacy.
    There’s an old saying: “Money Talks and BS Walks.” Well, the money is talking in other states via higher pay, lower taxes, lower insurance, lower rents, lower cost of housing, better schools, and so on. Even the most lefty of lefties knows when to hold ’em, and when to fold ’em…..and the medical doctors are foldin’ the bad hand they are being dealt in Cali and heading to $greener pasture$.

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  19. Not sure who posted “Executive Compensation $27M” Here is a chart of the highest paid individuals at Sutter Health as of three years ago:
    (1) SARAH KREVANS
    Pres. & CEO
    4,216,090
    (2) FLORENCE DI BENEDETTO
    SVP & GENERAL COUNSEL/ASST SEC
    2,745,156
    (3) JAMES CONFORTI
    SH SVP / COO
    1,886,186
    (4) JEFF SPRAGUE
    SH SVP & CFO
    1,601,449
    (5) DON L WREDEN
    SH SVP / PATIENT EXPERIENCE
    1,771,577
    (6) JEFF GERARD
    SH SVP / STRGY SRVS & CSO
    1,542,233
    (7) Stephen H Lockhart
    SH SVP / CMO
    1,206,676

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  21. Sutter has a bad recent history of fraud against the government and others resulting in large settlements by them to the State and Feds as I recall. They do not have good reputation for patient care and seem notorious for corner cutting. Not a good sign at this point.

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