Healthy San Francisco

Healthy San Francisco is a program intended to provide health care services to all uninsured residents of San Francisco. The program was established in 2006, when the Board of Supervisors adopted the Health Care Security Ordinance. This made San Francisco the first city in the United States to provide health care services to all uninsured residents. The program is open to all city residents, ages 18-64, who do not qualify for other public coverage. Eligibility is not conditional on citizenship, immigration, employment or health status.cite web |url=http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7760.pdf |title=Key Facts: Healthy San Francisco |accessdate=2008-03-14 |date=March 2008 |work= |publisher=Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured]

The Health Care Security Ordinance included a requirement that employers with more than 20 workers spend at least a minimum amount towards employee health coverage. The minimum contributions for 2008 ranged from $1.17 to $1.76 per hour, depending on firm size. Small employers and non-profits with fewer than 50 workers are exempt. Employers can elect to satisfy this requirement by contributing to Healthy San Francisco, in which case their workers will be covered by the program. As of early May 2008 over 700 employers had decided to participate in the program. [Wyatt Buchanan, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/02/BAKC10FB3C.DTL "734 businesses sign up for S.F. health program,"] San Francisco Chronicle, May 2, 2008] [http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51941 "Coverage & Access | Healthy San Francisco Program Prompts Some Companies To Shift Costs to Consumers but Appears Effective,"] Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, Kaiser Family Foundation, May 5, 2008] Early evidence suggest that employers are spending more on health benefits, but some are raising prices and cutting back on hiring. [Phred Dvorak, [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120994784372766411.html?mod=dist_smartbrief "Firms Adjust to Health-Care Law,"] The Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2008]

ee also

*Health care reform in the United States

Notes