This week, the city of San Francisco continued to expand its health care plan for the city’s uninsured, despite a recent court ruling against a portion of the program. Last week, a federal judge ruled that the city does not have jurisdiction over employer benefits and can not compel businesses to contribute to the plan known as Healthy San Francisco. The city attorney’s office quickly appealed and on Thursday, the three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seemed to favor the city’s argument that it could regulate employee benefits. Without employer contributions to the plan, 26,000 residents could be left without coverage. Despite the setback, this week San Francisco expanded the program to include those adults with incomes three times below the federal poverty line. Meanwhile, a plan before the state Senate to cover 3.7 million of California’s uninsured has an employer mandate similar to San Francisco’s. The Assembly passed AB1X last month and faces opposition from both liberals and conservatives in the Senate, which will consider the bill this month. If the Senate passes AB1X, voters must approve the $14.4 billion needed to fund the bill before it can be implemented.
With:
Bob Egelko.
airdate 1/4/08
Additional Resources
S.F. Health Plan Has Few Takers On 1st Day Of Eligibility Expansion
Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle
Assembly Bill Would Help Cover State's Uninsured Health Q&A
Aurelio Rojas, Sacramento Bee
Appeals Court Leans Toward S.F. In Universal Health Care Case
Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle
Here's To Your Health, Safety And Privacy
David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times
Health Care Funding Plan Filed
Aurelio Rojas, Sacramento Bee
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